Review Summary: The very sound of the depths of hell....
It's been a few years since we've heard from Axis of Light. Their 2012 EP
By the Hands of the Consuming Fire was one of the premier black metal releases of that year and these guys haven't missed a beat with their 2015 demo
L'appel du vide.
Now this demo isn't very long at all, clocking it at only 18 minutes, but that's more than enough time for Axis of Light to get their point across. If you didn't hear the EP, then let me inform you on what you're in for here and that is just about 20 minutes of straight up, raw, balls to the wall black metal. You'll most likely be blown away at the amount of catchy, yet absolutely ferocious riffs that are featured throughout such a short time. While this demo is extremely raw, it's also extremely atmospheric. If there was a soundtrack for hell, this would be it. The vocals here are top notch as well. Demonic, piercing high pitched shrieks featured here are some of the best black metal vocals I've heard in recent years.
As far as black metal goes in 2015, Axis of Light find themselves at the top and that's very impressive for a 4 song demo. If you're a fan of the more harsh side of the black metal spectrum, then you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't check this out. If you like riffs and you like Satan,
L'appel du vide is exactly the demo for you.