BODY VOID has always been one the more intense bands in the doom/sludge scene but with “Atrocity Machine,” they put themselves on another level of sonic density and have turned into one of the heaviest bands on the planet. At times, “Atrocity Machine” is so heavy that it is almost surreal. And that is 100% fine with me because, well, this is doom/sludge so the band might as well go for broke.

But it isn’t just the music that carries the weight of the universe. The lyrics and atmosphere are both palpable. BODY VOID has always been the band to speak their mind on important subjects but it has never been more potent than on this album. In a nutshell, “Atrocity Machine” speaks about the cancerous corruption of capitalism and what is has done to our natural and social environment/existence. The world is pure shit now and there is very little hope upon the horizon. Our leaders have failed us, the system that we were supposed to trust has betrayed us, and we all live in misery as we slowly burn away and that might not be as figurative as one would think.

This album takes all that and shapes it, forms it, and expresses it into one of the most harrowing and tragic albums I’ve heard all year. What the happened to this world? Where did it all go wrong? Can it be fixed? Should it be fixed? Or do we, collectively as humans, deserve our ending fate? The answers to these questions are mult-faceted and complicated. I have my own thoughts about them, which I won’t go into here, but “Atrocity Machine” is the soundtrack to my wonderings and the album we all need at this point in our lives.

“Microwave,” may just be a simple thirty second long intro but its noise musings speak volumes and set the rest of the album up. Speaking of noise, electronic sounds are a huge part of this album and share just as much as the rest of the more traditional instruments. I’ll be honest: noise isn’t really my genre. But to be further honest: BODY VOID incorporates it well. When the electronics and doom/sludge bring it all together, the album is truly magical and takes on a life of its own.

I will say that there are some issues with the production/mix. When the music gets very busy, sometimes the instruments drown out Willow’s vocals somewhat. This is a minor complaint but their vocals are amazing and deserve to always shine as much as everything else. “Human Greenhouse,” is a truly scary song with a most unnerving atmosphere that permeates the entire song. The guitars are, of course, made up of riffs and notes but not in a conventional sense. As much as they are music, they are also a force of nature, immovable and stalwart even as they help push the horror forward.

“Flesh Market” is just how I like it: low, slow, and deep. The music is towering but this tower is falling, casting a shade over all it is about to crush. The music one ups itself and gets darker and faster in the later half, the song divided into sections that compliment each other’s special brand of trepidation. The vocals in “Cop Show” are insane and I love how the music drops at just the right moments for maximum impact. This is one of the more violent songs on the album, which is perfect because we all know the history of the subject matter involved. The song mutates as it goes and by the end, all senses are are lost, clouded by music that is born out of a world that shouldn’t exist but does.

The last two tracks, “Divine Violence,” and the title track are both ten minute epics that are among the best songs the band has written thus far. I feel like like “Divine Violence” is one of the most perfect songs they have done because it sounds like every era of BODY VOID. If someone asked me for an example of what this band is all about, I would probably name this song. If that track captures the band as a whole then the title track captures this album in a more specific way. I’m not even sure if this is even a song—this is raw, unrelenting emotion more of hate, contempt, and sadness for this world that was put into an audio format

This is a really great album and a true example of the emotional power and importance of metal. But it is also a sad album. As much as I love this album, and the band, it is really unfortunate that we live in a world that inspires music such as this. I hope we can do better but if not, I’ll jam music like this until the bitter end.