Art and layout by Khuzuzu

Style: Technical Death Metal, Progressive Metal (Harsh Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Atheist, Cynic, Decrepit Birth
Country: USA (California)
Release date: 14 November 2025

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Metal, as a whole, is a genre full of endless detours, pitfalls, side-quests, and rabbit holes. One could spend years following a single stylistic thread through decades-long evolution, absorbing as much knowledge as possible about whatever particular sub-genre they’ve decided to explore, and still only have just barely scratched the surface of the wider metal lexicon. Technical death metal is one such thread, and a particularly long one at that, littered with fraying strands of genre experimentation and increasingly niche stylistic applications. 

At the end of one particular fray lies VoidCeremony, who have been systematically injecting their particular brand of tech death with murky concoctions of progressive ideology and subtle avant-garde-isms. Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel was a fairly straightforward debut LP, with a technical death metal foundation that had just begun to crack, revealing the faintest glow of the occult sensibilities hiding within. In 2023, Threads of Unknowing blew the cracks wide open, spilling forth a torrent of densely interlocking melodic development—taking inspiration from the jazzier side of ‘90s death metal in particular—and properly cementing VoidCeremony at the forefront of forward-thinking progressive technical death metal. 

With Abditum, though, VoidCeremony have pushed their sound even further, filling in their musical foundation with more avant-garde and progressive metal ideas than ever before. Threads of Unknowing, while densely technical, was also eminently hummable, full of earworms and huge melodies that burrowed into the listener’s skull, only to liquefy the contents within. Abditum, on the other hand, is defined by a vague tonality that consistently denies the listener any sense of diatonic comfort. Dense chromaticism, extended jazz chord voicings, and constantly shifting modulations are abused throughout Abditum’s runtime; I even hear whole tone scales and romantic era classical-inspired harmony sprinkled throughout (“Seventh Ephemeral Aura”, “Failure of Ancient Wisdoms”). A pointed effort has been made to veil any sort of tonal anchor point, leaving the listener enveiled in a thick, swirling mist as serpentine leads and spectral textures whiz by, too close for comfort. 

An intense rhythmic density matches the expanded wandering tonality, each synergizing with the other while also constantly egging each other on. Fluid time signature changes, rapid fire subdivisions, and even some slight rubato add a vertigo-inducing physicality to VoidCeremony’s sound, reintroducing some of the brawn of Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel to compliment the brain (melting) at the core of Abditum. The time-feel can even devolve into a sense of free-time as a result of all of these qualities, especially in the context of the natural, live performance approach to recording. The combination of what is perhaps VoidCeremony’s most complicated approach to both rhythm and harmony so far can make Abditum feel as much an unforgivingly antagonistic alien landscape as it is a progressive tech death album, an impression that is perfectly captured in its cover art. 

Thankfully, Abditum is the perfect length for such dense compositions. Clocking in at just under thirty minutes, it feels like there are forty-five minutes worth of ideas packed into the runtime, but intentional track ordering and intelligent pacing make the entire experience flow effortlessly. The metal material is even bookended by instrumental tracks that are closer to dungeon synth or video game soundtracks than anything else. I’m reminded particularly of the Golden Sun games soundtracks: gloomy bells, strings, keys, and choirs build melodic motifs that are superimposed upon by Abditum’s uniquely ambiguous melodic phrasing. The ‘90s synth textures and jazzy harmonies set the tone for the album while simultaneously acting as a nice thematic element that helps along repeat listens, providing a much needed anchor point among the eldritch, wind-battered wastes. 

Abditum is strikingly cohesive despite its density, though its sheer otherness can leave listeners searching for a foothold among the madness. VoidCeremony have crafted an experience that requires a pointed focus from listeners just to be able to hang on, otherwise risking being flung away by the emerging maelstrom. The result can be mentally draining, and even engaged, repeat listens hold no promise of further understanding (I’m about a dozen listens in at the time of writing this and still don’t feel like I’ve fully grasped everything), but—as is often the case—the reward is proportional to the work. Abditum is a worthy successor to Threads of Unknowing (even if I still prefer Threads…), and with it, VoidCeremony continue to tug at their particular thread of technical death metal, fraying it ever further towards innovation and consistency. 

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Recommended tracks: Veracious Duality, Failure of Ancient Wisdoms, Gnosis of Ambivalence
You may also like: Stargazer, Cosmic Putrefaction, Ænigmatum
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: 20 Buck Spin

VoidCeremony is:
-Garrett Johnson – “Wandering Mind” (guitars, vocals)
-Jayson McGehee – “The Archonoclast” (guitars)
-Damon Good – “The Great Righteous Destroyer” (bass)
-Dylan Marks (drums)
With guests:
-Ben Ricci – “The Absent Deity” (session bass)