Disciples of the Void is the debut album of Shrine of Insanabilis, a band that takes the whole “mysterious black metal” thing about as far as possible with a lack of member info, anonymous band pics, and no info of their origin other than “emerging from nothingness.” (“Emerging from nothingness,” by the way, is the black metal equivalent of “from parts unknown.”) Not that this is anything unusual, it’s just not the best way to stand out when your debut is largely an amalgamation of obvious influences that doesn’t achieve pure excellence as often as it feels very promising.
Still, it does sometimes find this excellence, and to most fans of ripping, violent black metal, that will be more than enough. Lacking in distinction though it may be, Disciples of the Void kicks more asses than it misses.
The torrent of blazing tremolo lines in “Ruina” will immediately call to mind bands such as Nightbringer, and throughout the album, Shrine of Insanabilis shows not only a knack for the riff style, but a willingness to nearly go overboard. It’s a great strategy, and a fun bit of self-indulgence. However, this is often a nastier, dirtier band, with a great, varied vocal variety ranging from shredded shrieks and tortured yells to deeper death growls. During tracks like “Acerbus,” the tempo and blast-heavy attack are reduced so that these vocal variations can fully come through, while the twisted melodies of the tremolo riffs are given even more space in which to shine.
It is with the changes in style and tempo that Shrine of Insanabilis shows the most promise, and sometimes the greatest thrills. At one point in the aforementioned “Ruina,” they swap the maelstrom out for a big, massive, blackened groove so tight and rockin’ that you’d almost swear you’ve switched to a Tombs record (almost). Later, in the lengthy “Invocation,” they fully indulge their doom traits, going minimal in all aspects while ramping up the atmosphere. It might not feel like it makes complete sense within the insane, unrelenting context of the rest of the track, but it remains an interesting diversion that reveals a desire to dig deep into dynamics, knowing that these moments boost the tension and elevate the pure fiery brutality that is the band’s specialty.
So again, even as much of the album absolutely kills, much of it is still about the promise of greater achievements in the future. In that way, Disciples of the Void feels like a debut album, but a damn fine debut album nonetheless. Shrine of Insanabilis is that rare band that nails a fully formed sound on their debut, and even if you might recognize most aspects of that sound fairly quickly, you’ll still get a plenty wide grin from the absolute motherload of blasts and screams and swirling riffs and everything else stuffed into this fun, efficient album.
