Review by Rachel Jablonski
When I was a kid, I don’t know probably about 10 or so, I had a stroke of musical genius on the piano. This construct so intrigued my little brother that we still talk about it to this day. From the depths of my soul came what we now dub as “Rachel’s two note power ballad.” Counting up 13 keys I believe it was from the low end of the keyboard, placing the ring finger of my left hand on the 13th key and the pointer finger on the 15th, with four forceful strikes arose my piece. Holding the minor notes after the forth strike, a brief pause following, my right hand would randomly play the upper keys creating a mass of chaotic beauty. I mean we’re talking first rate quality music here! As ridiculous as it sounds, the dark tone and random flow was actually entertaining.
So when I heard the beginning of the first track, “A Monolithic Vulgarity,” off Intronaut’s Void, one thought crossed my mind… THEY COPIED! The burst of minor notes struck and then held at the start of the track reminds me of my composition from years ago. But I welcome the similarities that only my brother and I would recognize; Los Angeles’ metal quartet Intronaut knows what’s up! Epic, dark, and emotionally stirring, Void is atmospheric, oriented in musical storytelling.
Very little priority is given to the vocals/lyrics on the album. Phrases such as belligerent apathy heard in “Gleamer” carry with each individual word a connotation of brutality that matches the heavy musical tone. But combined, the words are almost a forced lyrical fill. Belligerent apathy, by definition, does not make sense. It is an impossible state of being and does not carry much significance to the track. So it seems that the gruff vocals are simply another instrument meshing well with the overall sound.
Musical breakdowns saturate the album with many good bass lines. It is difficult to break the album into individual songs due to the solid flow throughout. An album that must be listened to from beginning to end for full effect, the raw, random instrumentation is jam-packed. Noisy, heavy, moody, technical, abstract, and melodic combinations fully settle in after the 7 song, 43 minute listen leaving the listener intrigued.