EP Review: Cancer Void – “First Metastasis” (Death Metal)

Written by Kep

When you start listing off countries with great death metal scenes, the first few mentioned are a sure bet: Sweden, the US, Finland, right? The next tier of contenders is less set in stone, but you’d expect to hear the Netherlands, Canada, and maybe France, Germany, Poland, Norway, or even the UK, depending on who you talk to. But great death metal scenes exist in tons of other places that get less hype, and one of the heaviest hitters of these is Czechia. Home to bands like Heaving Earth, Brutally Deceased, Destroying Divinity, and Hypnos, it’s also home to new outfit Cancer Void, whose debut EP follows suit and looks pretty damn promising. 

The quintet’s debut effort, appropriately titled First Metastasis—metastasis being the process of cancer spreading to new locations, just as this release branches the band to a host of new ears—comprises 21 minutes of old school pummeling with bits of shiny new school flair. There’s a lot that’s familiar here and it’s the sort of shit that will grab a death metal fan’s ear immediately: tight, brutal riffs from the Immolation school (“Encased in Veins”), apocalyptic tremolo lines that carve across the texture like a bone saw through flesh (“Breeding Pyramids”, “Cosmic Caverns of Extinction”), bits of driving thrash and wild shifting angularity (“Ammonian Baths”). The drums are weighty, thumping heavily with real bulk, and the thick steely tone of the guitars has a nasty serrated edge to it. We’ve got wicked bass that’s mixed to be heard and classic throaty death growls. 

And while they do all of that good shit noticeably well, Cancer Void takes the opportunity in their debut here to show that they can do more. For example, there’s a false ending and then a particularly pummeling bridge section heralded by ripping solo bass that really boosts “Breeding Pyramids” just when it could lose steam. The section breaks in each song work well, even when they’re quite abrupt, like in “Encased in Veins”, where headlong old school thrash-influenced death runs smack into ignorant pit karate chug rhythms. And the solo work is appropriately colorful, rippling spacey tendrils here and eerie slowly rising angles there, always adding to the mood, always in service of the track. Closer “Cosmic Caverns of Extinction” is the most promising of the bunch for me, showcasing the journeys this band can take over a slightly longer runtime. The riffs churn, harmonies speak in uncanny dissonance, gloomy tempos advance in menacing measured steps, and then it all breaks loose into a wild swinging triple meter that’s as carefree as it is crunchy. 

So who all is responsible for this mangling assault of muscular riffage? The promo materials don’t name Cancer Void’s members, so your guess is as good as mine, but their talent is readily apparent. The four songs here are extremely competent in their least impressive moments and really damn good at their most. There’s groove to spare and technicality to balance it out. Hell, I’ll even begrudgingly admit that the atmospheric (though not imaginatively named) instrumental tracks “Introduction” and “Interlude”, though not strictly necessary in any sense, are good pieces and effective at setting the ominous cosmic mood. It’s all promising, which is all you can ask for from a band’s first EP. 

THE BOTTOM LINE

Simply put, Cancer Void’s debut EP is extremely impressive and gets me excited for an eventual full-length, whenever we might get it. The Czech scene’s newest up-and-comers showcase great songwriting enhanced by satisfying production and atmosphere. I highly recommend checking First Metastasis out.