Black Vault – Death Obsessed (Digital/CD Album – Dunkelheit Produktionen)
This album from the Danish project Black Vault was actually released quite some time ago—back in the spring of 2025. With the telling title “Death Obsessed”, we are presented with five tracks.
There is no room for fun in this sonic universe; instead, we are confronted with a dark, nihilistic-sounding whole. The atmosphere is carefully constructed and accentuated by occasional spoken-word samples, creating a tormented listening experience. Blending elements of Dark-Ambient, Industrial, Noise, and even Ritual music, the production is sometimes a tiny chaotic yet undeniably well-crafted. The combination of influences is fascinating, and, to my mind, the opening two tracks are particularly compelling.
Black Vault transports us into an illusory world of ruin. The only thing missing, for me, is an absolute climax—though that certainly doesn’t mean this isn’t a great record. (Rating:7½).
Listen to “The Hollow Sighs Of Putrid Emission”:
About Black Vault
Black Vault is a Danish project working in occult industrial and death-industrial territory on the German label Dunkelheit Produktionen. The project’s debut album, “Hymns To The Great Devourer”, was released on Dunkelheit Produktionen in 2023. “Death Obsessed” is the follow-up, recorded between 2023 and 2024 and released on March 1, 2025, mixed and mastered by Grant Richardson at Hex Audio Labs.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
