Info
- Band(s): Human Harvest
- Label(s): Iron, Blood and Death Corporation
- Release Format(s): CD
- Release Year: 2024
- Review Date: February 20, 2025
- Author(s): Huw
2024 saw the return of Swedish Death Metal and Grindcore veteran Jonny Pettersson’s Human Harvest with the release of the band’s third full length album entitled: ‘Void of the Vile’. A bleak and unrelenting Death Metal outfit born into creation through a partnership with British drummer Jon Rudin.
Pettersson, known for his illustrious career with current acts such as Wombbath and Vholdghast, in addition to a roster of previous bands including Wormveil, Massacre and Disfigured Victims (to name a few from his startling list of credentials) is no stranger to the birthing of torrentially dark and dizzying Metal projects and 2024 marked the third consecutive year for Human Harvest album releases.
With ‘Void of the Vile’, Human Harvest display a markedly different representation of their hate filled and destructive Death Metal synergy. The album wastes no time in immersing the listener into a raw wall of sound that is clearly saturated with many of the hallmarks of a Blackened-Death record, dissonant guitar leads contribute to the many layers of distorted sound whilst hiding amongst the shadowy, immersive timbre of the track list, whilst the chunkier and more direct power chord rhythms further add to the depth of instrumentation and provide the record with an important sense of rhythm. The clearest Blackened element here is Pettersson’s use of mid range vocal shrieks which he skilfully incorporates between his usual guttural bark to great effect.
Track three ‘The Dirge’ even treads into a somewhat faster than your usual Death Doom territory with a chugging groove that sits atop Rudin’s clobbering double bass and adds for a nice variation to the compositional approach. Whilst I find that Rudin’s drum performances are solid, they do tend to become buried underneath the chaotic instrumentation and busy mix, leaving some of the finer details of his playing slightly obscured.
I could easily see the dense and highly busy sound of Void of the Vile being a source of interest for fans of Nile, Belphegor, and, in some cases even Australian Avant Garde legends Portal. With this album Human Harvest have successfully diversified their sound whilst demonstrating a template for future experimentation.
Iron, Blood and Death Corporation
- Country: Mexico
- Style: Black Metal, Death Metal
- Links: Facebook, Bandcamp
