From the same country that gave us BÖLZER, Switzerland has yet again graced us with a band to drown us in heaviness. Not the crushing and crunching kind, but that which has the gravitation pull to swallow stars and suffocates us by replacing our liveable atmosphere with the harsh, choking air that permeates the atmosphere of ANTIVERSUM's first EP, "Total Vacuum".

You may trivially compare them to PORTAL or BÖLZER, but really, ANTIVERSUM somewhat comes across as an amalgamation of the two, with riffs that more so dredge rather than scrape and rattles your brainstem with Doomy goodness. The album's title is descriptor enough.

Coming with 4 tracks, 3 of which of relatively daunting length for a EP, I think it's perfectly clear what ANTIVERSUM could bring us in the future. Beginning the EP is "Finis Aeterinitum"; an introduction that makes you want to fetal-position in the corner, it opens with a torturous series of slow chord progressions and cymbal-heavy drum patterns that highlight the echoing vocals, the source of which will remain nameless (like the rest of the band; a trending thing in the 'genre'). Unlike a lot of Doom-Black Metal, the vocals seem to be more so interwoven into the grim backdrop, rather than propped up at the forefront, causing you to try especially hard to pick them out. In a bombastic fashion the track gradually picks up in speed, and is essentially a constant crescendo for the remainder. The shortest track on the album, "Vetus Angelus", carries on this pattern with riffs barrelling along like rolling thunder, seemingly regressing into a sluggish Doom state... Before it, oh wait, picks up again; didn't I just listen to this?

Being a little of wary of many modern Extreme bands in their vein that tend to sound (without coming across as ignorant) too similar, I was rather glad that the title track, which was to follow, breathes/chokes new life. Opening with a rather ingeniously crushing series of percussive riffing, progression of the track is akin to what your stretched-beyond-proportion remains would feel like spiraling into a black hole, wherein the instrumentation and the arrangement of this track is undeniably intelligent, and easily makes it the best track on offer. Closing with the chugging, mid-tempo number of "Adventus Finis", it brings forth subtly different vibes, with slightly elevated and higher pitched vocals than what we can be used to, and tending to repeat the much-loved riffs that broke open the title track. It emerges into a brutal cadence part-way through, directing us to the inevitable end.

Yet another Doom-Black attempting to mirror BÖLZER? I think not. I think you would be pleased/displeased to find one of Metals most abrasive bands... Ever.