VOIDFALLEN hailing from Helsinki, Finland were formed in 2019. The melodic Death Metal band released so far one EP and one full-length album. Their sophomore album “The Rituals Of Resilience” was mixed by Juhamatti Kauppinen (RE-ARMED) and mastered by Mika Jussila (AMORPHIS; APOCALYPTICA; CHILDREN OF BODOM). It has a length of about 43 minutes, and it was released via German label Noble Demon, which has many Death, Black, and Thrash Metal bands among their current roster.

The album starts with the song “Threads Of Blood”, which begins with a piano-driven intro, leading into a track at measured tempo and powerful guitar riffing. The verse parts are heavy with thunderous riffs, while the chorus parts are epic with darkness and melancholy in the melodies. The vocals are growls and vary around the medium end of the guttural range. The break for the lead guitar solo maintains the tempo and the epic melodies. The solo is very contributing and an extra asset to the track. “Threads Of Blood” finally ends with the piano, where it all begun. “The Original Wound” continues with the measured tempo from the previous track for its extended guitar-driven instrumental part opening the track. The instrumental part introduces the main melody of the track. The verse parts of the track are fast with tight guitar riffing, while the chorus parts seamlessly go back to a measured tempo and provide once again epic and dark melodies. The track finishes with the piano again. “Hymn For The Fallen” starts more direct, aggressive, and with more pace. It is a mixture of fast verse parts and chorus parts at a measured tempo and melancholic melodies. It is a song of contrasts: the crushing and fast verse parts with the blast-beats on one hand, and the slow chorus parts, which include orchestral arrangements led by the piano. The break is a short one and a fast one too with a short but contributing lead guitar solo. And once again, the track concludes with a piano.

As the album continues, the songs include prominent orchestral arrangements more often, in “Starved Of Martyrs” at the beginning and during the chorus parts. The verse parts are fast with flesh-ripping guitar riffs and a lot of aggression. The chorus parts switch towards a measured tempo with melancholic melodies. Towards the end, there is a blast-beat driven break, before the song ends with the piano. “Tread With The Ghosts” starts again with an extended instrumental part led by the guitars. It is a track with switching tempi and rhythms, with blast-beat driven verse parts, chorus parts with thunderous riffing and crushing basslines, and on top of it all are the orchestral arrangements with the strings. “From The Towers Of Ivory” is a back and forth of fast parts and parts at measured tempo. The guitar riffs of the fast parts are tight, and they are accompanied by the double-bass drumming. The melodies are grim and melancholic throughout the track. Orchestral arrangements are notable with the strings leading the charge. “Rituals Of Resilience” follows the same song textures of most album songs. Fast and aggressive verse parts alternate with epic and melancholic chorus parts at measured tempo. “Rituals Of Resilience” is a very compact song with powerful guitar riffs and mature drumming parts, indicating a good songwriting.

“Pyre Of Vengeance” starts with a piano solo, then the strings join in, followed by the guitars, bass, and drums. After a spoken-word part, the verse parts transition into a mid-tempo part with tight guitar riffing and dark melodies. The chorus parts switch to a measured tempo with thunderous riffing, prominent orchestrations, and the epic and melancholic melodies. It is a relatively short track and something like a break with a solo seems missing. However, “Pyre Of Vengeance” was released as video, and the YouTube link is provided below. “Branding Of Souls” starts crushing with punishing guitar riffing, blast-beats, and double-bass drumming at mid-tempo. The orchestral arrangements are already pretty prominent during the verse parts, and they completely take over during the choruses resulting in a bombastic track with spine-chilling melodies. “Branding Of Souls” is one of the album highlights despite the over-emphasis on the arrangements. The album finishes with “The Mourning Shores” and the track has a ballad-esque introduction including clean vocals. As the track goes on, it follows the familiar album patterns of dark and epic melodies, interrupted by faster heavier parts. Once again, the orchestral arrangements are very prominent, and another album feature comes back: the finishing of the track with the piano.

VOIDFALLEN release an interesting and promising melodic Death Metal album. “The Rituals Of Resilience” are a delivery of epic and melancholic melodies, a bombastic sound at times, relentless blast-beat parts, and thunderous guitar riffs. For me, there was too much emphasis on the orchestral arrangements and as time went by, the song structures were quite similar, following often the same patterns. The album is well produced. Melodic Death Metal fans, who like it epic and symphonic will enjoy the new release of VOIDFALLEN.