May 2022 Feature Release The Fallen Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Fallen has been nominated by Sonny. It is the little-known 1992 debut from Maryland's Internal Void, one of the hidden gems of early nineties traditional doom metal.

https://metal.academy/releases/27893

I was quite recently going through The Fallen's releases for the early nineties to see if there were any gems I may have missed over the years and yes, there were a few. Standing on  the Sun is one such release and is a real belter. It is sometimes genuinely hard to believe that some albums have gained zero traction over the years - this is thirty years old and has a mere 120 ratings on RYM. I know I'm a bit biased as far as doom metal goes and this probably won't do much for the younger members out there, but this is a far better album than that suggests. Anyway I'll repost my review as I still stand by it:

This is truly one of the hidden gems of the early nineties' doom scene and is a record I can't believe isn't more popular among fans of traditional doom metal. Hailing from Frederick, Maryland, Internal Void were apparently pretty well-known in the Washington DC area, yet seem to have gained little traction outside the US capital's rarified atmosphere, which is a great shame as this album kicks all kinds of ass and, to these grizzled old ears at least, gives more highly-regarded releases from the time a run for their money if not actually whupping them into submission. Despite being in existence for since 1987, with a two-year hiatus around 2013, Internal Void have unbelievably only released three full-lengths of which Standing on the Sun is their debut.

Musically Ithe band sit somewhere between Black Sabbath and Saint Vitus and sound similar to The Obsessed, particularly the guitar work of Kelly Carmichael who's dirty riffs are obviously influenced by Wino. Carmichael also turns in some red-hot solos that seem to howl into the aether like a wounded beast and contain passing nods to both Tony Iommi and, I would dare to suggest, Rush's Alex Lifeson. Vocalist J.D. Williams often times sounds like Ozzy but at others sounds more like Wino but either way, his vocals are perfectly appropriate to this style of grimy trad doom. The rhythm section of future Earthride drummer Eric Little and bassist Adam S. Heinzmann, whilst not doing anything showy or overtly impressive, provide enough of a solid foundation for both Carmichael and Williams to launch their sonic salvos on unsuspecting metalheads' ears.

Standing on the Sun is an impressive slab of doom metal and contains enough remnants of Sabbath's heavy metal to perfectly illustrate what is meant by the traditional doom metal tag. There are some supremely heavy riffs and some that have a nice "groove" to them as well in a more stoner-influenced style. In fact, Kelly Carmichael has turned in one of my favourite guitar performances of nineties doom metal on this, with both his dirty riffs and psych-influenced leads really sticking with me. His intro to Utopia of Daze even apes the anticipatory build-up intro to one of my favourite tracks of all-time, The Stooges I Wanna Be Your Dog, before slowing it down and turning in yet another killer riff-fest.

So there we have it, if you are into old-school, Sabbath-influenced doom metal as practiced by Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Count Raven or Pentagram then you really should wrap your ear'oles around this fantastic hour's worth of trad doom awesomeness.

I'd certainly heard the name Internal Void around the traps over the years but can't say that I've ever committed to checking them out before now. In fact, I wasn't aware that they'd released anything else after this debut album which proves Sonny's point about being a particularly underappreciated artist. After giving "Standing On The Sun" a few spins over the last couple of days I've achieved a firm opinion on the music that lies within & while I can't say that I find the same level of appeal as the elder statesman of our Metal Academy community there's definitely a fair few positives here. The warm 1970's production job is a great start as it really compliments the band's sound & gives the record that authentic old-school doom atmosphere. The inclusion of psychedelia in the lead guitar work is something that I've always found appealing while I can easily pickup the Alex Lifeson influence that Sonny mentioned above. Unfortunately though there's a fairly major stumbling block for me here in J.D. Williams' vocals. He's clearly trying his level best to be Ozzy Osbourne but sadly doesn't possess anywhere near the level of talent required so he often ends up sounding more like Lee Dorrian's weaker moments. There's no question that he's trying really hard but it should all come a lot more effortlessly for a genuine front man. For this reason I found that two of the three tracks I enjoyed the most were the instrumental pieces in short acoustic interlude "Eclipsed" & album highlight "The Peace Song". The other element that places a cap on my rating is the inclusion of a fair few groovy stoner metal riffs. While those riffs may sound very much like Black Sabbath, I have to admit that even the mighty Sabbath can't completely win me over when they go in that direction for any sort of period (as they did on a record like "Vol.4" which I've always considered to be a bit overrated). Epic closer "Desolate Cemetery" is my pick of the vocal tracks as it manages to overcome a significant doom-to-groove ratio through an impeccably dark atmosphere, some stellar riffage & lead work & a pretty cool lyrical approach. 

Overall I find "Standing On The Sun" to be a mildly enjoyable listen that has the edge taken off an excellent instrumental representation of the traditional doom metal philosophy by a couple of aesthetic & compositional flaws. I'd be surprised if the vast majority of Saint Vitus, Pentagram & 70's Black Sabbath fans don't find enough to keep them interested here but I'm not sure too many of them will consider Internal Void to compete with the premier traditional doom metal bands that influenced them.

3.5/5