Cold Void / Tod – Black Metal Armageddon [Split]

The Italian underground has already surprised me before and I knew Tod plays Black Metal the right way. Cold Void was still a big question for me, but again the European Booth has surprised me. At the end of the ride it’s hard to say what band I like the most…

The Italian Cold Void started out as Frostbane in 1999 and changed their name a few years later. After releasing a demo in 2002 this is Cold Void’s second assault. I was a bit surprised when hearing the 2004 version of ‘Frostbane’s gate’. I thought this band would play some kind of industrial Black Metal, hearing the groovy slow bass line, pulsing hi-hats and melodic piano harmonies. But the song bended over into Moonfog styled Black Metal with an typical underground touch. I’m thinking of Khold… The next song is more different by the use of some clean male vocals. Again there’s some groovy slow bass line taking the lead in this song. ‘Fistfucking Armageddon’ is my personal favourite on the Cold Void part. Again there are some slower Satyricon/Moonfog influences and again some clean vocals make this song more innovating and interesting. Bloodskull Impaler’s low pitched and aggressive screams sound very good! Their last song, entitled ‘Porno slut’ hails from The Exploited and is one crusty motherfucker. You can clearly hear where bands like Impaled Nazarene got their inspiration, hehe… The sound is quite good, but the drum’s ride sounds way too mechanical; computer?

Now get set for underground level minus 10. Formerly Tod has released 2 demo’s of which their first one ‘Black Vengeance’ was sold as a tape, a CD, a split CD with Gorath and a Brazilian tape edition. This year they released the ‘Hymn to the Death’ EP and they’re already back with ‘Hate campaign’. Firstly as a tape release and now also as a split CD with Cold Void. There are some busy ghouls wandering around in the forests of Bologna… The four songs, Tiamat cover included, give notice the cold winds aren’t always blowing from the north. Tod brings you pure Scandinavian underground Black Metal. The darkness and melancholy starts as ‘Hate campaign’ sets in. The slower parts are typically Burzum and Tod brings forth the same hopeless touch a certain count once did. Though Tod main audible similarities are coming from Darkthrone during their ‘Transilvanian Hunger’ age. ‘Blood filled eyes’ could be right taken from ‘A Blaze in the Northern Sky’, one of the best Black Metal releases EVER! The last song is ‘Do you dream of me?’ and is original written by Tiamat. It’s nice to hear the song totally fits the melancholic Black Metal jacket the band plays. Don’t expect new things from Tod – But do expect cold and dark Black Metal as it should be.

…you see, both bands play totally different. Some may like the more newer approach of Cold Void and others may like the traditional Tod more. Again I must say, now the ride is over, it’s hard to say what band I like the most. But why choosing when you can get both bands on one (split) CD? This is Black Metal Armageddon…