Review by Adam M on April 16, 2020.

Testament has returned to glory with their new album Titans of Creation. This is a very solid return to form that sees the band competing with classics like The Gathering in fine fashion. The riffs are slightly more aggressive than on their last few albums and shine through nicely here. The album gets off to a strong start with some of the most memorable moments coming near the beginning of the work and showing a great amount of promise for things to come. 

The album doesn't pack as much of a consistent punch as The Gathering, but it is more enjoyable than other albums that have appeared since then.  The riffs are just more crunchy and memorable than the last few outings. This album still does not strike the perfect balance between aggression and melody, however, and could still be improved upon greatly. It is still a smashing good time and the band seem like they’re having a lot of fun performing the tracks. The album gets off to a strong start with 'Children of the Next Level' and only lets up a little as the album progresses. There haven't been many memorable thrash releases in recent times, so this release is certainly welcome and appreciated. To be able to compete with the classics, Testament will need to try something a little different and progress in an exciting new direction.

The way the album starts off is promising, however, and shows off a band firing on all cylinders. It's heavy and much more satisfying than recent album like Brotherhood of the Snake, but still doesn't reach the band's most elite albums like The Gathering, Low and Practice What You Preach. I must say I was very impressed by the music found here and have hopes for the future of this band. Thrash fans should definitely check this material out.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Alex on January 16, 2020.

I feel Void Rot was given a cold shoulder, unfairly overlooked because of a saturated music scene. Had they been given the same coverage the likes of Spectral Voice or Krypts or even some meaningful spotlight, their debut EP, Consumed by Oblivion would have been the words on the tongues of many at the time of its release. I happened to stumble across them on The Metal Archives just by the thin chance of spotting the band name in the updates section and like all inquisitive metal adventurers I clicked. It'd be fair to say Void Rot don't have as many releases as Krypts nor Spectral Voice plus they arrived rather late to the scene, which could also be attributed to why there had not been much mention of the band. In addition, at the time of the EP's release and even beforehand, many had already grown accustomed to or even weary of the whole death/doom resurgence.

Usually I'm all for keeping things at a limit in favor of quality preservation as far as what enters my musical vault thus bringing me to the point of where and why Void Rot should share space within the same room more notable acts. Not to be mistaken, this is by no means a copycat band bent on riding the tidal success of this new wave of death/doom metal, in fact though carrying some elements of recognized bands of the genre in addition to those of Abstracter or even Cruciamentum, their methodology is more aching to that of a melodic one. Their musical palette is conservative from some perspectives; however, if you listen beneath the overshadowing hm2 pedal distortion you would begin to notice the lengths at which Void Rot goes to stitch together a sound and feeling that is somewhat independent and could manage well on its own.

'Ancient Seed' shows us how fluid they can write a song of trance-like effect whilst title track, 'Consumed by Oblivion' demonstrates the bands capability to drag the listener in and out of that state of mind with sudden bursts of guitar patterns adjacent yet still intrinsic to the general fabric and texture of Void Rot's blueprint. The d-beat drumming and vocal strength of the Ep empowers the daze these 3 sessions evoke, therefore causing the music to truly shine as a jewel of cohesion. A split with Atavisma is scheduled to be put-out sometime in February of 2020 through Everlasting Spew Records, hence it should be interesting to see how it is received and how Void Rot has progressed as a band since this EP. Let’s hope their effort is not 'Consumed by Oblivion' once again.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10