North Carolinian heavy progressive cosmic rockers Voidward will release their new three-songer, Occult Symmetry, on Feb. 21. As the follow-up to their 2022 self-titled LP (review here), the 19-minute outing is of course less substantial in runtime, but as the premiering-A/V-below lead cut “Light Rider” (4:33) — followed immediately by “Dark Miracle” (4:49) with “Plowman (Transmission to the Limerent Object)” (9:50) rounding out — demonstrates, the band are continuing to grow and develop their sound. Worth noting is that Occult Symmetry, in addition to the self-titled, also follows the Nov. 2024 four-song outing, The Plowman 11th Anniversary Series Macro-Single, which took the original “The Plowman” from the band’s 2013 debut EP, Knives, and reinterpreted it across four different versions, the first and most limerent of which is shared with the new EP as well.
That all gets kind of complex, and even more so when one considers Knives‘ foundation in black metal and sludge, but in the ensuing 12 years, Voidward have become a different band. Tonally, Occult Symmetry is less metal even than was the self-titled, and the guitar is able to reach that much farther in “Plowman” or “Dark Miracle” for that, the latter an intended complement to “Light Rider” and the redux’ed former standing on its own in runtime and maybe on side B of an imaginary 10″, if you prefer to think of it that way. There’s still plenty of distorted buzz, but the vocals lean more toward heavygaze and spaceprog than the rasp of the original “The Plowman,” and the intention feels more toward fluidity and a Pallbearer-esque wistful vocal melodicism takes hold amid the post-midsection chug. To compare, “Light Rider” tells its story in start-stop declarations drawing from and mellowing-out classic metal with a gentle push of groove in the chorus. There’s plenty of presence, no shortage of tonal weight, but “Light Rider” could just as easily be named for the fashion in which it carries its hook across to the listener. Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, shred, chorus, end — it’s pretty straight-ahead in terms of structure, and though it has its own procession, “Dark Miracle” is a suitable companion piece, like weirder, more patient Danava on a trip of ’70s/’80s metallurgy. Catchy like Scorpions, it is.
It’s all part of a plan the Durham-based trio are unfolding. I won’t pretend to understand it; hell, on my first read of the press release below, I thought Occult Symmetry was a three-song full-length, so there’s my depth of knowledge for you. As you can see, it’s kind of cryptic, but whatever The Void Cycle might be, Occult Symmetry is positioned as a “prelude” to it, and what comes through clearly in these tracks is the ongoing growth and exploration being undertaken by the band. This is an evolutionary process playing out in their songwriting that’s audible across their releases to-date, and their willingness to revisit older material with a fresh emotion and perspective speaks to the open nature of their creativity that’s let them evolve in the first place. They have chased their sound to this point; I will not speculate where it might lead them from here, whether that’s a second album or not.