Published: March 11, 2019

It is time to enter “the void” courtesy of Italian composer Matteo Gruppi el maestro behind everything we hear on Il Vuoto’s second full length album following on from ‘Weakness’ in 2015. We are informed that ‘Vastness is a painting of sorrow as experienced by four different states of mind,” no answers are really given as to what those states are and I guess that is left to the listener to interpret. They are presented over 5...

Published: March 2, 2019

With his debut album, released back in 2015, the one-man band of Il Vuoto served up a powerful concoction of atmospheric funeral doom, with the art, titles, and music coming together in impressive union. The follow-up album has finally arrived, and with its hour's worth of material spread over five tracks, it certainly makes for a worthy succession.

The band's orchestrator, Matteo Gruppi, puts care and consideration into every part of...

Published: February 19, 2019

This is the debut for Italian band Il Vuoto. Both the sound and the songwriting have apparent references to music played at least twenty years ago. I do not know whether the end result of the production was their choice or a case of low budget, but, no matter what, for me this retro sound works just fine. They remind me of bands such as Saturnus or My Dying Bride, so as you would understand, they have a lot of atmospheric parts and th...

Published: February 9, 2019 

The bastard child of metal, funeral doom is the sub-genre we don’t talk about enough. It sits there sullen and threatening. We glance over and wonder why we even bother with such a depressing and unhappy thing. That is until we listen and we remember that it can bring such joy the moment we hear what it can bring to the party.

As big fans of Chiral (read our review of Gazing Light Eternity here), there is e...

Published: February 8, 2019 

“Vastness” is the second album from the Italian Funeral Doom band IL VUOTO. The name is completely unknown but Matteo Gruppi, the person behind IL VUOTO, has another band named CHIRAL and this one I already heard in the past. So I was curious concerning this release. And… What a masterpiece. Really, this is very very very very good. The atmosphere around the album, the vocals (they can be whispered, strong or clean), the a...

Published: January 31, 2019

Emanating  from a single mind, this record is a deep and tortured offering. Revolving around the core theme of sorrow in its many forms, ‘Vastness’ is by its very nature an uncomfortable listen at times. Subject matters such as mental illness and suicide are not meant to be taken lightly, and Il Vuoto takes us to some pretty dark places on this record, placing us firmly outside of our comfort zone as we examine a minefield of emotio...

Published: January 30, 2019

One of the many glories about metal music lies in the fact that no matter what, there’s always something new being made as the constant innovation and experimentation of metal is something that people like me can’t get enough of. Funeral doom is one of those styles that I’ve always wanted to hear more of, but the number of bands that call the style home seems incredibly small, but they’re overflowing with talent. Steppin...