Marked with a vital scathe and an unflinching capacity for staring into its own darkness, Clarion Void‘s second LP, Failure in Repetition, is being released March 1 through Lost Future Records. And between the failing referenced in the record’s title, the perhaps-tainted-but-still-a win cast in “Through Chaos We Succeed” and a alignment of opposites as “The Bottom” cycles through “The Top” in side B with the last of three industrial-ish drone interludes between them, one wouldn’t be wrong to feel pulled in different directions across the tumultuous 10-track/31-minute procession.
This is very clearly intentional on the part of the Colorado Springs four-piece, who embrace the caustic as a uniting factor from the outset of “Repetition I,” the minute-long machine-churn fade-in that immerses the listener with a ready tension that leads directly into the volatile, hardcore-informed extreme sludge that comes together with a corresponding black metal fervency on “Through Chaos We Succeed,” which lays out its harshness marked by harsh-toned lurch, vicious vocal bite from guitarist Greg Mullenax and an abiding current of noise. You would not call it friendly.
From the toying-with-fuzz-bass and the increasing insistence of chug in the instrumental first half of “Sisyphus Wept” 
to the seeming complement of blastbeats in the mythologically-on-theme finale “Rolling Boulder,” Failure in Repetition functions as a multifaceted entirety, leaning to one side or the other at a given moment and actually resting too long in one place, however many walls of tone or noise — looking at you, intro to “This is the Water” — they may build and tear down throughout, Mullenax, guitarist Evan Courtland, bassist Bryan Webb and drummer James Ivy maintain a harsh, unsettled atmosphere with a focus highlighted in “Repetition I,” “Repetition II” and “Repetition III” but is consistent in even the rawest moments of scathe, whether that’s the what’s-the-use-of-anything nod beneath the solo in “This is the Water” or the instrumental “Lulu’s Interlude” that follows it, not quite giving the listener a break from the onslaught, but perhaps gathering itself for the next violent phase in the second half of the tracklisting.
Clarion Void‘s 2023 debut, Deafening Sounds of Mortality, followed a not-entirely-dissimilar ethic of world scorch, but Failure in Repetition feels stripped down — though certainly the Greg Wilkinson production wants nothing for density, space or impact — even at its most complex moments. The extreme nature of the vocals is part of that, but as “Repetition II” and “The Bottom” unfold into “Repetition III” and “The Top,” the band show refinement of their craft in the stylistic diversity and abiding crush, as well as the efficiency with which “The Bottom” lumbers and “The Top” sad-slogs, making the churn in the 5:20 longest track/closer “Rolling Boulder” feel like a point of arrival as it digs into itself to build tension before loosing the aforementioned blasts, which feel as though they were held in reserve for the finish and lead into a verse that feels like it’s consuming the band as well as the listener like some kind of destructive ouroboros, then hits into a mega-slowdown to tease an ending before resuming its prior course of punishment.
There are some differences in intent between the two halves of the LP — you might note looking at it below that two of the interludes are on side B while side A feels more compact with “Through Chaos We Succeed,” “Sisyphus Wept” and “This is the Water,” and I think the listening experience bears that out — but Failure in Repetition is cohesive as a whole work of scope that’s almost deceptive with the forward crush and flay. You can stream the record in full below, and if you’re up for it, the void indeed calls you.
Enjoy:
Colorado Springs, CO band Clarion Void today share Failure in Repetition, their forthcoming sophomore album and debut on Lost Future Records.
Failure in Repetition is the newest album from the Colorado Springs, CO based doom-metal quartet Clarion Void. Focused on themes of inevitability and the futility of progress, the album crushes the listener with detuned, sludgy riffs before exploding into a breakneck black metal onslaught. Not for the faint of heart.
Failure in Repetition was recorded with Grammy nominated producer Greg Wilkinson (High on Fire, Pallbearer) at his studio in Oakland, CA.
The album will be available on LP and digital on March 1st, 2024 via Lost Future Records. Pre-orders are available HERE: https://clarionvoidco.bandcamp.com/
CLARION VOID LIVE:
02/29 Colorado Springs, CO – What’s Left Records (album release show)
Artist: Clarion Void
Album: Failure in Repetition
Label: Lost Future Records
Release Date: March 1st, 2024
Tracklisting:
01. Repetition I
02. Through Chaos We Succeed
03. Sisyphus Wept
04. This Is The Water
05. Lulu’s Interlude
06. Repetition II
07. The Bottom
08. Repetition III
09. The Top
10. Rolling Boulder
Clarion Void are:
Greg Mullenax – Guitar/vocals
Bryan Webb – Bass
Evan Courtland – Guitar
James Ivy – Drums
Clarion Void, “The Top” official video
Lost Future Records on Facebook
Lost Future Records on Instagram