Holy Void – All Will Be Revealed in Time

Holy Void has one of the best band bios we’ve ever read – it’s only fitting to start out this psych-rock journey with such beautiful prose. See below:
“A psychedelic hexad emerges from the nidus that is Winnipeg, charting sonic dimensions with a fervour that captures the depth and complexity of the human psyche”
A nidus, by the way, is a place where bacteria flourish and thrive… Or the epicenter where something may develop or be fostered (yes, we had to look that up). But we digress, whether their hometown of Winnipeg is a sludge factory or the perfect petri dish, this crew has certainly spent a significant time culturing their latest offering. The album’s roots started way back during the COVID-19 pandemic – a story you’ve probably heard a thousand times by now… But their patience and persistence has paid off – they’re now sitting on a full-blown LP, the nine-song All Will Be Revealed In Time (AWBRIT). Full of crispy, sunny, surfy, and fuzzed-out guitar work; thumping bass and washy drums that pound away at your ears; orchestral compositions courtesy of a violin; and the type of glassy-eyed, aloof vocals that this genre begs for, AWBRIT listens like it was certainly worth the wait.
The album kicks off with the sun-soaked psychedelic rock of “Too Close To The Sun.” Quickly, the band acquaints you with their very un-Winnipeg-like and very-desert-like instrumentals. Guitars sound like they’ve been drained of every ounce of moisture, spitting and soaring with angsty chord strumming and tails of spaghetti western spring reverb. Sludgy bass and booming drums pound out an unstoppable rhythm – a motif that carries throughout the entire album. It’s clear that Holy Void is inspired by the Velvet Underground and The Jesus and Mary Chain, but hints of The Black Angels and deeper cuts from Queens of the Stone Age consistently poke through. They drop a bit of tempo to dive into something a little more groove-oriented on track two, “Dead,” with it’s swung rhythm and jam-out vibe, but never drop that brooding intensity that makes their music so intriguing. Keeping the string of incredible songs going, song three, “Fear in Your Mind,” touches on punky surf sensibilities and might have the catchiest chorus on the entire album – “Fear” is also elevated by its incredible bassline, which is a ruthless hook in and of itself.
The aforementioned songs are all single-worthy (and for good reason), but there’s lots more to enjoy across AWBRIT. The instrumental “Golden Lies” is a particular standout, with its violin-soaked leads and squelchy keyboard accents, and could have just as easily been an RPG boss battle theme in a different life. The twangy acoustic-guitar lead on “The Restless” pushes and pulls at your ears like a wry mosquito, feeling like a welcome respite from the otherwise constant onslaught of dingy electric guitar. “Love” sounds like being stranded among the buttes out on Route 66, ostensibly somewhere in New Mexico or Arizona, being cooked alive by the blistering sun. “In The End I’m Nothing Anyways” is built around a guitar that feels like it belongs in a ’90s era grunge song, and could sneak into the oeuvres of anyone from Pearl Jam to Collective Soul to your favorite obscure college rock band. Holy Void even finds a way to end things on a perfect note, lamenting that “salvation’s ripped away from me” overtop a chorus of unholy backing vocals.
All Will Be Revealed In Time is out now (December 13, 2024). Check it out via Bandcamp (below), or add your favorites to your psych-rock playlists on Spotify. Check out their website for more information, too.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna