Void Dweller - Night is Hell (2013)

   Void Dweller was one of Mr. Kamil's (Xaos Oblivion, Demonic Slaughter) plenty of side-projects. All of his bands were basically some mixed forms of black, death and thrash metal, and like in such cases so often the question stands, why all of the albums couldn't be released under at least two names? Void Dweller for instance was so similar to Demonic Slaughter (even the album design fits pretty well), that it could have been another Demonic Slaughter album too. 

   Not surprisingly "Night is Hell" had quite old school ambitions, but not trying to imitate the sound of the early '90s or the late '80s. The production is good, and despite the old school influences, it definitely reflects the sharp sound quality of '10s records. The music is intense blackened death, that sometimes refers to first wave features both by themes and vocal style. When the vocal switches to narrative style, the main impression at slower tempo reminds to Tormentor, while at intense speed it's similar to Root or Inquisition. There is a specific experimenting feeling to sense during the album that was quite usual at '90s Eastern European black and death metal bands, but on a way more developed level, that none of them were able reach, mainly because they've split up earlier. And the very few who survived, have chosen slightly different path due to line-up changes and personality development. If Void Dweller's intention was to reintroduce that now already vintage approach, they definitely succeeded. But it's also possible, that while time have passed and many things has changed meanwhile, Mr. Kamil didn't, and he was completely unaffected by most things that happened during the decades. However, "Night is Hell" (and Demonic Slaughter in general) a pretty enjoyable living fossil in the Eastern European extreme underground. Recommended for the fans of ancient blackened death!