HEAVENS DECAY – The Great Void of Mystery (Album Review)

Ah, the age of the internet. For all of its hassles, the internet provides a lot of opportunity and positivity. Take the band Heavens Decay for example. Two of Heavens Decay hail from Chicago while the third musketeer resides in Mexico. The songs on the band’s recently issued debut The Great Void of Mystery, were completed via the internet. After an established career in the death metal genre, Heavens Decay leader and creator Julio Viterbo decided to reconnect with the Heavy Metal that enveloped him as a youth and gave meaning to his life. He created Heavens Decay after his involvement in recording Acerus‘ 2013 debut album, The Unreachable Salvation. After composing several tracks, Viterbo was joined by Mexican drummer Oscar Clorio. Together they searched out vocalist Nick Hernandez, who like Viterbo calls Chicago home.

Heavens Decay recorded in Chicago’s Minbal Studios with mixing by Matt Russell and mastering by Dan Swanö in Unisound Studios in Sweden. Artwork for The Great Void of Mystery was created by Arturo Vargas at Souls Crematorium Art Studio. The album became available from Chaos Records as of December 12, 2016.

Heavens Decay – The Great Void of Mystery

This is not a quick listen style of record I found. The Great Void of Mystery is more complex and requires some time to sit with it. But once it gets hold of you, you’ll find yourself welcoming the next track selection. I hear a lot of NWOBHM influences from Iron Maiden, Saxon, and Judas Priest throughout the record. Six of the eight compositions (not counting the just over a minute in length “Intro”) are upwards of the five-minute mark. The closing track, “Endless Fire” a real opus with nine minutes running time.

The lead track, “Born of Fire”, sets the tempo for what to expect. Absolutely loaded with riffs and awesome guitar work proving at the outset that there are no lack of technical skills here. “Ritual Site” absolutely screams Iron Maiden to me. Probably my favorite track on The Great Void of Mystery. While there’s plenty of headbanging opportunities here I wouldn’t say that the album flys by at a breakneck pace, more in the mid-tempo heaviness area. Further into the album, “The Exile” proves me wrong as it thunders along in the shortest composition.

Overall, I rather enjoyed Heavens Decay – The Great Void of Mystery, but I don’t see it being an album that gets a ton of rotation or coming with me to the gym.

BUY: The Great Void of Mystery