As a lover of both black metal and outer space, I was super excited to check out Vosforis. Labeled as “industrial black metal” in the metalhead’s bible, Cosmic Cenotaph is Vosforis’ debut album, released on April 19th, 2024 through Inner Hell Records. The mastermind behind the UK-based band is Simon White, who joined forces with At The Gates’ drummer Adrian Erlandsson in 2022 to ultimately create an album that is as intense and heavy as it is a psychedelic and philosophical experience and an exploration of the human psyche and its place within the universe and beyond.
Throughout this concept album, the listener is invaded by a heaviness that feels physical and is transported to a seemingly other plane of existence by the progressively more otherworldly sounds of each track. The album as a whole has a cosmic horror feel to it, and the harsh vocals seem to express a growing desperation to escape the confines of the human experience and consciousness. The record starts off strong with “The Basilisk,” a track that offers an accurate glimpse of the songs to come with its intensity, and “Grey Skin” hits even harder, with an energy and headbanginess that is irresistible. “Psychonaut” leads the listener into an exploration of the human psyche within the universe using an effective mix of slower and doomier moments with faster blastbeats, and has a lovely solo by guitarist Richard Shaw as well as arrangements by Anabelle Iratni, both former members of Cradle of Filth. “Decoherence” feels angrier, faster, and more aggressive than the tracks before it, and “Childhood’s End” (which I imagine is a nudge to Arthur C. Clarke’s 1953 sci-fi novel of the same name) has more of the dark and industrial sounds and keyboards as well as some really nice and chuggy riffs.
It’s not easy to make an interlude track that is impossible to skip and that seamlessly connects different parts of an album, but Vosforis manages to do this and more. “Intermezzo III” carries the listener from the first half of the album to the second, a short journey that feels transformative and psychedelic and makes you feel like you’re floating in space. “Alien Nexion” has fun extraterrestrial keyboards inserted between the heavy riffs and vocals, and “Universal Rot” brings back some of the anger and aggressiveness from earlier. “Chains of Existence” has some awesome riffs and delves deeper into the frustrations linked to the limits of human consciousness and existence. The album culminates with the aptly named final track “Omega,” a cohesive song that completes the album with its cosmic heaviness and lyrics that further reflect upon the human experience and beyond. This last track also includes a guitar solo by Richard Shaw and additional arrangements by Anabelle Iratni.
I thoroughly enjoyed this album and am looking forward to seeing what Vosforis does next. I think the philosophical and psychedelic approach worked really well with the black metal and industrial elements, and the synthy keyboards truly added to the cosmic and galactic feel of the record as a whole. The vocals were heavy and intense yet very intelligible, something I always appreciate in extreme metal. The more I listened to the album, the more I was able to enjoy and appreciate each track as well as the album as a whole, which definitely feels like more than the sum of its parts. Vosforis’ debut record is impressive and impossible to forget, and it is especially memorable due to its depth and the obvious hard work and passion that was put into its creation.
Learn more about the band and buy their vinyl here: https://innerhellrecords.co.uk
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