Album Review: Call of the Void – Ageless

Love straight-up hardcore sludge that gets a hard-on while trashing your face to bits? Yeah, me too. And so do Denver-based metal outfit (formerly known as Ironhorse), Call of the Void. They’re almost as fond of kicking the shit out of your speakers as they are of one of my favorite four-letter words. Which I’ll leave to you to discover on your own. Here’s a hint; I’m planning on using said word and it’s many variations a lot later on.

All kinds of distorted noise and rapid-fire concussion inducing percussion are present on Ageless, the second record (and second release with Relapse Records) from Call of the Void. Ageless speeds along with the unbridled aggression of a reckless driver chugging No-Doze and Whiskey. Which sort of seems out of place when you consider the mushroom cloud of mellow that usually envelops the state of Colorado and it’s music scene. Thankfully Call of the Void called fucking bullshit on this tree hugging trend, and quickly took their heavy metal asses to Denver so they could elevate their hardcore fuckery to a much higher and heavier level.

Gordon Koch, Call of the Void’s drummer describes his playing style as that of a person who enjoys playing with “wood sticks” and “smashing things”. Harsh words from a man who has a self-professed nerd crush on the television show, The Wire. Jokes aside, the percussion and speedy timekeeping that Koch delivers on Ageless is quite impressive and almost outrun the sadistically unclean vocals of Steve Vanica in their race to Ageless’ finish line. A race that is impressively showcased in the speedball track, “The Hive”. So unclean in fact are Vanica’s vocals that in a recent interview he confessed that his singing style might have caused him to no longer be able to speak properly. Such are the brain-crushing side effects of having a throat that produces sounds this fucking metal.

Some of the material on Ageless has been with the band for a while – nearly three years. Something lucky witnesses to the bands aggressive live shows will attest to. Once they were ready, the band recorded Ageless at the Boars Nest in Salt Lake City, and then had it mastered by a member of the Portland, Oregon metal elite, Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. A special place on earth that has brought the sounds from bands like Off!, Noothgrush and PDX legends (to me anyway) Pierced Arrows to life. The intensity that of Call of the Void brings to Ageless and their ability to play their music “three times faster” than most bands are only a couple of reasons why this grind-y record will likely land on quite a few metal “Best of” lists this year. Which makes perfect sense following the positive reception the bands crusty 2013 debut, Dragged Down a Dead End Path received.

Call of the Void will kick off it’s month-long tour on February 7^th in St. Louis at The Demo (Destroy the Brain locals – do not miss this one!), and will hit all kinds of clubs and dives in LA, Seattle, Oregon and places in between that have been deemed tough enough to withstand Void’s sonic assault of hardcore jams. Consider yourself (and your ears, as well as your face, and probably your ass just to be safe), warned. One more thing. Fuck BIg Head Todd and the Monsters (but not Colorado State Poet Laureate John Denver because that’s not right), and fuck all the Colorado jam bands that have followed in Phish’s aftermath of post-hippie love. Give me hardcore, or give me death.

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