ABSTRACT VOID Back To Reality

FLOWING DOWNWARD Blackgaze with 80s synths? It’s now a thing

You may be forgiven for wincing at the inevitability of this attempt to blend shoegaze-fuelled black metal with synthwave, but the truth is that Abstract Void are annoyingly compelling. BM’s intrinsic nihilism and melancholy could easily be diluted by the jittery euphoria of 80s synth, but even though these songs sound exactly as you would imagine such a hybrid to be, they amount to something irresistible and absurdly charming. Admittedly, this will more likely appeal to fans of synthwave and post-rock than Darkthrone acolytes, but the nameless ingénue behind this scheme clearly knows his frostbitten onions, even as he displays sparkling mastery of pulsing, post-Blade Runner rhythms and dense washes of synthesised scree. It had to happen, and thank Satan it did.

FOR FANS OF: Perturbator, Ghost Bath, Explosions In The Sky

DOM LAWSON