How much can one research darkness and its meanings? I guess that this question has a numerous methods and ways of answering, but the enigma remains and none is satisfying nor it is complete. Linking darkness with tales of mythology, the ill mannered ancient law of the land and Mother Nature that consumes all that was mentioned, is a type of art, may it be in storytelling or in the form of music. Black and Death Metal have always sought, beyond the mere inspiration in Death and its own methods of taking the life out of the living flesh and religious issues, the glorious darkness and its obscurities. BLACK SEPTEMBER, a group of five American musicians interested in the dark arts from the US, aren't the first to walk down this road, nor they will be the last to endure its obstacles. Through their local label of Prosthetic Records I was granted the chance to experience their sophomore album, "Into The Darkness Into The Void". With their blend of Black and Death Metal from various years, whether the late 80s or early to mid 90s crossing between BATHORY, VENOM, DISSECTION, DARKTHRONE, KRISIUN and a few additional none-Metal features such as tainted macabre Punk Rock, BLACK SEPTEMBER tried to find a sort of sense in legends by unravelling them in a bestial and violent way so those will come out strong and without any emotions. Truth be told that "Into The Darkness Into The Void", at least from my point of view, wasn't as promising as it looked, probably the other way around.

After stepping into the dark hole with the overture of "Into The Darkness", which showed me that I can get used to the darkened nature of the realm before me without any problems, the castigation began and with full force pounding mercilessly. Through the highly frequent attacks of trill guitar hazards, bearing a few melodic twitches that helped me get through on my way to the end, and the intensified drumming, especially the usages of fast breaking grinds and endless bass drum rapid triggering, I was well aware that the one in charge of the mixing forgot that there is a vocalist in town, and probably one that would like to be heard in the mix. Eventually, none of the tracks on this release did justice for the multi-channel layered vocals of Jen Pickett, which were swallowed by the intensity of the rhythms, as there weren't any lead guitars around to add to the fragmentary blistering extreme clamour. Furthermore, I might as well add that the bass drum choked, at least on several areas, the life out of the rest of the channels.

Back to the music, even without being able to actually understand the chants of Pickett, I continued seeking something on this release that would make me a little more comfortable. Therefore, as a fan of the old school type of extreme Metal, I found my little niche in the fundamental blackish oriented, rhythms and crunchy trills. On the other hand, and although being rather catchy and attainable, BLACK SEPTEMBER, following their raw Punkish attitude that sprawled from time to time, pretty much came back with the same melodic offerings. Unlike DISSECTION that composed astonishing melodies, BLACK SEPTEMBER held their faith the atmospheric nature of the Norse kind, and yes they did present some interesting stuff, yet I am afraid that not too much to win me over. I had my high hopes for "Cursed", "Defiance" and "No Return" that made their own wicked mayhem and devastation with no remorse. The latter two virtually seemed more complex and assorted than the rest of the material, BLACK SEPTEMBER still pounded as if there is no tomorrow, yet displayed something more thought through beforehand. In a nutshell, the atmosphere is right there on "Into The Darkness Into The Void", the knowledge of blackened Death Metal is also there but how about zinging it more, add more melodies, better the vocal production and working on some of the arrangements more. Try it if you dare.