{"id":631557,"date":"2026-05-08T20:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T20:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/631557\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T20:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T20:40:11","slug":"voidthrone-dreaming-rat-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/631557\/","title":{"rendered":"Voidthrone – Dreaming Rat Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"There\u2019s a lot of weird shit floating around the metalsphere, and that includes Voidthrone\u2019s newest addition, Dreaming Rat. The Seattle quartet has been kicking around for a decade, and in that time have released three prior platters of escalating lunacy. Without question, Dreaming Rat is Voidthrone\u2019s most unhinged concoction to date, and a quick look at their Bandcamp credits gives prospective listeners a window into the alchemical ingredients they cook with, including Otamatone, conch shell, jaw harp, vibraslap, digeridoo, spoons, and a fretless bass. Throw in vocalist Zhenya Frolov\u2019s deranged vocal stylings, and you\u2019ve got yourself a bona fide manic expression of dissonant blackened death metal. With so many disparate components in Dreaming Rat\u2019s stew, does Voidthrone soothe the savage beast or unleash a waking nightmare?<\/p>\n

Listening to Dreaming Rat is a bit like experiencing an auditory fever dream, where disconnected fragments congeal into lurid, atonal anarchy. Voidthrone didn\u2019t arrive at this sound overnight, though. Debut Spiritual War Tactics whipped and frothed with the restrained vitality of Krallice<\/a>, and follow-up Kur added jazz-informed touches in the vein of Imperial Triumphant<\/a>. Physical Degradation evolved Voidthrone\u2019s sound, integrating more unconventional instrumentation and pushing the band\u2019s songwriting past its comfort zone. On Dreaming Rat, Voidthrone takes the blueprint laid out on Physical Degradation and indiscriminately expands the range for strange. The result sees Frolov stretching his vocal performance into frenzied tirades, covering the gamut from Replicant<\/a>\u2019s vomitous barks to Sigh<\/a>\u2019s oddball deliveries. The instrumentation also gets exponentially wackier, as it conjures the rabid wrath of Pyrrhon <\/a>along with the chaotic instincts of Afterbirth<\/a>, resulting in an unpredictable romp to the end of the world.<\/p>\n

\ufeffDreaming Rat by Voidthrone<\/a><\/p>\n

At Dreaming Rat\u2019s core, Voidthrone details the life and death of a solar system through bleak eras, segmenting the album into present, past, and future. The arcs are presented in that order, with each one comprised of three songs. The present describes the apex of a civilization, harnessing the promises forged upon the hopes and chaos of the past. Meanwhile, Voidthrone paints a grim outlook for the future, specifically calling out \u2018an extinguished, lonely death of the physical, spiritual, and cognitive.\u2019 The lyrics throughout Dreaming Rat read like the demented ravings of a madman\u2019s manifesto, and while I don\u2019t think I could have divined the album\u2019s overarching concept from them alone, reading them amplifies the bedlam Voidthrone has crafted on Dreaming Rat.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Writing music this lawless may seem haphazard, but over repeated listens, I\u2019ve begun to glimpse the method to Dreaming Rat\u2019s madness. Without question, everyone in Voidthrone earns their stripes. Ronald Foodsack\u2019s guitars drench Dreaming Rat with warbling dissonance, perpetually in flux so that there\u2019s never a riff or refrain to inhibit the music\u2019s incessant lurch. Whether moving at frantic paces (\u201cIII-I. Surfing the Abyss\u201d) or decelerating to a plodding crawl (\u201cII-II. Morbid Seagull\u201d), Ron\u2019s six-stringed blitz never stalls. Additionally, Gavin Brooks contributes acoustic guitar and solos while manning the glorious fretless bass. Technical death metal has hogged the fretless bass for too long, and I\u2019m glad Voidthrone has the stones to add it to disso metal\u2019s tool chest. Tracks like \u201cI-I. Bergen\u201d and \u201cII-I. Homeless Animal\u201d showcase the character the instrument offers, bolstering the ever-shifting nature of Dreaming Rat. Drummer Josh Keifer grounds the band ably, locked into a supporting role that allows the other instruments to take center stage while he keeps things on the rails. Frolov\u2019s feral vocals and the host of unconventional instruments further enrich Voidthrone\u2019s distinctive identity, establishing what sounds like it could be the death throes of the universe.<\/p>\n

What Voidthrone accomplishes with Dreaming Rat is fascinating and unique, and merits everyone\u2019s attention. Sure, some songs could be trimmed to make such a scathing album a bit shorter and more palatable, and the three arcs could use some musical cues to distinguish songs thematically from one another, but Dreaming Rat is a crowning achievement for the band. Voidthrone\u2019s psychedelic psychosis makes bold promises on paper and completely delivers in fact, and when I\u2019m in the mood to get really weird with it, this will be the album I reach for.<\/p>\n

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2026<\/p>\n

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