Album Review: Voidmaker – A Cold, Unyielding Universe (Self Released)

Voidmaker, the blackened death and thrash metal band, will release their new album ‘A Cold, Unyielding Universe’ on May 25th, 2026. The album’s narrative explores humanity’s evolution, extinction, and rebirth across deep time.

I do love an extreme metal album that looks to the cosmos and takes things in a cinematic direction which makes this album an immediately appealing listen. Fast and furious heaviness blended with soul-crushing blackness given weight via a deep look into the darkness of space, and beyond.

Voidmaker make grand promises here, and I will admit to going in with high expectations, but happily, they deliver.

My senses were on fire from the start with the dramatic symphonic arrangement that is Starfall. This is what the word ‘cinematic’ means in the context of this record, although it’s important that listeners also recognise that Voidmaker bring the weight of all this in other, more vitriolic and garish ways. The first of which rears its ugly, but creative, head in the form of The Post-Human Emergence. While this may not be a concept record in the traditional sense, it is telling a story, albeit a very expansive one.

This track is the band at their most riotous sounding, delivering a frenzy of brutal blackened death noise, with just a touch of modern anthemic flair to make it feel fresh. It is perfectly complimented by something a fair bit thrashier in the form of Terraforming the Red Planet. Both come with some technicality too, showcasing just how broad their musical range is.

Whereas those tracks were sharp and to the point, Project Infinity is the first example of Voidmaker shifting the tone to be more dramatic. Changing tempos, turning the melody gloomier, but also delivering flashes of bright intensity too. This is a track that feels big, and some of the guitar playing can best be described as ‘out of this world’. Fitting.

As you can probably tell, I liked that track a lot, but it’s one part of a bigger picture that thrills and chills. Take the following Ganymede, the Outpost. This is such an imaginative track, and not just from a musical perspective. At this point I realised I was really immersed in the cosmic tale Voidmaker tell here and this track’s explorative tempo, alien melody, and frantic guitar/drum combo creates a whole new tension-based vibe.

That immersion deepens as Epsilon Orionis hits with the force of a giant star going supernova and Terminus’ sci-fi touches gel impressively with how the instrumentals and vocals soar and scour in equal measure.

Yet, as intense as all of this has been so far, and how carefully planned out the story has been, Voidmaker have so much more to show, and the latter part of the album features some of the best moments of all. From the stunning melodic metal effort that is Of Digital Creation. To the blistering depths and delightful highs of the title track. To the unforgettable closer that is Wormholes – Lightchaser, this is an album that ends stronger than it begun, which says a lot because the start of the album is very good too.

Their magnum opus, what makes this album interesting is the immersive story, but when coupled with a thrilling combination of heavy ideas, it becomes so much more. It becomes special.

Voidmaker – A Cold, Unyielding Universe Track Listing:

1. Starfall
2. The Post-Human Emergence
3. Terraforming the Red Planet
4. Project Infinity
5. Ganymede, the Outpost
6. Epsilon Orionis
7. Terminus
8. Of Digital Creation
9. A Cold, Unyielding Universe
10. Wormholes – Lightchaser

Links

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