Emptiness

When something is described as "oppressive death metal" (from Belgium!), you just know it's not going to be fun. And Emptiness are not fun ― at all. But Emptiness do know how to mine some unconventional riffs and beats from their songs (musically, I'm thinking a lesser Immolation), and with Enthroned folks in the band, and two albums already under their miserable belts, they know what they're doing. Do people still care about cover art? Pretty sure the answer is no, but if they did, the disorientation cover image is appropriate for the music it holds. Check out the second track, "Deafer," which explores some strange, waltz-y, double-time beats, and the upbeat "Worst," which combines the sludge of Funerus with a shockingly jumping tempo (hey, it's almost fun!), before enveloping the listener in washes of sludge, reverb, sewage and death/doom grind grime. Emptiness definitely have a sound all their own, and it's a bit hard to warm up to, but it's worth the effort.