Bloodcrusher - Voidseeker

It didn’t take very long, but Oregon’s Bloodcrusher are back with more riffs, slams, and brutal sounds for the Blood Gods. More Brutal Death Metal touching Slam and Deathcore for the ears and more skulls for the skullthrone with all the head banging that is about to commence. For those who don’t know, this project is headed solely by Dave Wolfe who also is part of Under the Red Tide, which is another multi genre band touching on Black, Death, and Doom. Here with Bloodcrusher the sound is pretty straightforward but one can hear traces of Ov Sulfur (minus clean vocals and symphonic elements), earlier Mental Cruelty, and even touches of Analepsy in there. “Voidseeker” may seem more fleshed out compared to the debut back in 2024, but the album runs about the same and the run time of each track is just shorter. Like a lot of Brutal Death Metal and Slam songs, these are going to be fast and heavy with no remorse, but still very fun to listen to.

Right off the start with ‘Hymn Of Atropus’ one can really hear the Mental Cruelty bit with the crushing breakdowns, the layered growls and shrieks, and just churning, furious riffs. Unlike a lot of Brutal Death Metal bands out there who just seem to hit with full force like Internal Bleeding or Brodequin, Bloodcrusher uses the breakdowns to mix up the ferocity so they still hit hard, but not overwhelmingly. Wolfe knows how to pace himself and his listener as he hammers in riffs and drumming with superior quality. Then there’s the more Ov Sulfur guttural type tracks with ‘Agonal Cherubim’ which feature the pig squeal type vocals along with shrieks and monstrous roars. Despite a rather clunky approach to the riffs that might seem simple, the instrumentation still rips and shows that one doesn’t always need extra atmosphere or heavy symphonics for a lush background to really flesh out a track. But sometimes they are needed such as the longer, more dramatic and terrifically horrifying ‘Sanguis Aeternus’ which has a bit more depth than the other tracks. Drumming is a little more spaced out and doesn’t quite feature that ‘let’s beat the head in’ moment like some of the earlier tracks but it still sounds like thunder and doesn’t have that hollow echo that a lot of Brutal Death Metal bands or Slam bands use.

Some Ministry elements from “Last Sucker” work their way into the album as well such as the samples used on ‘Death Battalion…’ Here the groove is more bouncy and while not featuring the best ‘vocal’ moments for Wofle he still shows he can inject a bit of Morbid Angel fun to make the track almost close to what one would consider more ‘mainstream Death Metal’ out there. Sometimes the samples though are used to a disadvantage such as the random singing on ‘Methmouth PSA’ or the brief panicked screaming on ‘Slamocracy.’ While it is a nod more to the Slam world and touching on bands like PeelingFlesh who are well known for their use of samples, sometimes the overuse just makes the track feel like a rushed instrumental with some guttural growls and vomits here and there. Even without the vocals where it was the guitars, bass, and drums with the sample would have made for some great interludes to break up the album altogether.

Despite a few hiccups and what may sound like a rather rushed runtime, “Voidseeker” builds upon the carnage that “Bloodcrusher” set forth back in 2024. This album is loud, nasty, and perfect for anyone who has a love for Brutal Death Metal music or wants to just mow down some baddies in a game like Doom or Quake. It keeps the adrenaline pumping high and yet keeps intrigue across a variety of genres from Slam, to Blackened Deathcore, to just passionate Death Metal. Wolfe should be very proud of his accomplishments here and listeners who like their music polished but still sounding like it spewed out of Hell and wants to tear your face clean off should not sleep on this album and get ready for a good half hour of headbanging.
 
 
4 / 5 STARS