Being a huge fan of H.P.Lovecraft's work I have a soft spot for Metal bands whose music/lyrics are inspired by the legendary master of horror. VOID BELOW from Whitehaven, England (is there a more suitable place for a dark and ominous band to come from) are four lads (James Maxwell - guitars/vocals, Kyle Jenkins - guitars, Looke Norman - bass and Brad Messenger on drums) who play Doom/Death metal in praise of the monsters from beyond the wall of sleep. "World Undone" is their second EP (after the debut self-titled one "Void Below" from 2022) and it offers four lengthy tracks that emanate darkness and terror of cosmic proportions.

The horror journey starts with the spoken word intro of "Eldritch Incarnate" which transforms into slow and crushing Doom/Death sound. Remarkable are James Maxwell's vocals - he sound extreme but intelligible, you can hear the actual words that come out of his throat. The track has an infectious chorus that make it a great track for live performance. There is something of the old ANATHEMA sound in this opening track, the way they sounded on their "Silent Enigma" album from 1995. There is darkness in the music, there is heaviness but there are also melodic passages intertwined inside the heavy sound. The second track is "Pillars ov Pestilence" which was also the track chosen by VOID BELOW for a single. It is the shortest song in "World Undone" (it is under 5 minutes) and it begins with faster Black metal like tempo which after a while slows down into a Doomish pace. Again here we have a memorable chorus suitable for crowd chanting. The third song is called "Beyond the Black Mire" which is the fastest piece of music from all four in this release, an ode to the foul creatures who roam in the black mire and are hungry for life and death. Here you can also c learly hear some intriguing bass lines alongside the heavy guitar riffing and the chainsaw-like leads. The final of "World Undone" comes with the album title track which is ten-and-a-half long song. This is a slow and crushing Doom/Death steamroller that will make you bang your head and scream "Obey Your Master" as loud as you can. The track ends with the famous line "Now I Am Become Death, The Destroyer of Worlds" which you have heard in so many other Metal bands and a twisted guitar solo.

VOID BELOW's second EP is a beautiful journey into the darkness and insanity of the words created by H.P.Lovecraft. The guys have a lot of talent and hopefully they will find a proper label that will help them in their development as a band. Their music deserves to be heard so if Doom/Death metal of a proper quality is your thing then don't miss this release!