It is not every day that one stumbles upon a one-person, blackened death metal band. However, today is that day! Vølus has dropped his sophomore release, entitled Thrown to the Abyss (Vargheist). The best way I can sum up this album has to be trancelike. I found time and time again that I would lose myself in the chaos that Justin Vølus has created while also bobbing my head in time.

The opening track, ‘Traverse the Arkhanspire’ gives you a twenty second head-start before the sonic wave of blastbeats and dissonant guitar riffs with strange time signatures. There is also a layer of harsh noise that the guitars bring to the table as well which further cements the uneasy/occult feel to the recipe that is Vølus. ‘The Breathing Reflection’ is another track that I had to pull myself out of hypnosis to check the track name. The rhythm guitar section had a more death metal feel to it with some “chug” and a couple portions of tremolo picking as well before returning with that heavy dissonance meets harsh noise. ‘Temporal Pathways’ also had me stopping my cult-like head bobbing to see which track was on. There are moments, even during the strange guitar riffs, where the drumming had me feel like this was turning into a thrash song but ended up… Thrown to the Abyss (this is the part where I put my sunglasses back on).

This record is some of the most abrasive music I have listened to in quite a while, but Vølus does a great job in making a statement and wrapping it up without tiring out the listener. I really look forward to going backwards through his discography and find what else I can lose my mind to. For now, Thrown to the Abyss is going to get consistent playback on my daily work playlist!

Buy the album here: https://volusblackdeath.bandcamp.com/album/thrown-to-the-abyss

7 / 10

TIM LEDIN