Dead Void - Cranial Devastation

Dead Void is a doom/death metal band from Denmark, who hit the scene in 2017 with their first demo.  Their latest album, “Cranial Devastation,” is their second full-length album; they have also released three demos.

Having never heard of them before receiving the “Cranial Devastation,” promo, this album is a very nice surprise for me.  This is a 5 songs and 35 minutes of some of the more raw and disgusting doom I’ve heard in this first half of 2026.  Things aren’t going to great for this year, or the world in general, but doom like this can fuel the world.   It fuels me, at least.  

The mix and production are absolutely fantastic and the MVP of the album.  Every instrument can be heard equally but each piece is also covered in a sweltering tone of sickness.  The vocals match the instrumentals head on, colliding together, and coming out the other side as a big, nasty, wall of sound.  

It isn’t all doom though—-those who don’t like a slower tempo will find more than a few faster-paced parts here that will keep your interests through the songs even if you aren’t a doomer (But why aren’t you?). 

The first song, “Regurgitation of Ancient Manifest,” is the first song and a pretty damn good overview of what the album has to offer.  The buzz of the lead guitars overlay the crushing bass as the drums hammer forward, pushing the dark tone straight into the death growls.   A slow groove settles in and I love how greatly the drums complement the first couple minutes.  By the time the song reaches its halfway point, the band is leaning hard into their death metal side by taking the grooves and speeding them up to crazy levels.  The final moments of the song find the doom returning, crawling its way back into whatever damp hole it crawled out of.

“Phantosmial Stench of Decay,” is possibly my favorite song on the album.  The beginning grooves are surprisingly catchy and the drums keep my focus on the slow, grinding beat.  The echo on the vocals is fantastic—just ghastly enough.  The sudden upticks in tempo are insanity incarnate and bring the song into gargantuan levels of chaotic noise.   I like the rolling bass of the drums highlighting the chopping riffs in the later portion of the song, hitting all the sweet spots on the road to devastation. 

The final song “Jeg Kan Ikke Flygte Fra Mig Selv,” closes the album in the only way it can be:  dismal death and stalking doom.  The drums go for a more atmospheric approach, and it works wonders for the decaying riffs that ring like a constant buzz inside the head.  The deep vocals dig deep underneath and pull everything up with it, like a body not buried enough but brought to the surface by a cold, warm rain.  

Dead Void’s, “Cranial Devastation,” is a solid death/doom outing that hits the sweet spot for what I want in this style of underground doom.  Equal parts death and doom, this album goes hard with a brutal sound.  

Rating:  Solid