Lousiana's Forming the Void is one of stoner metal's best-kept secrets. Last year's Relic was a potent blend of sludge, stoner and prog, accentuated by phenomenal songwriting and damn-near radio-friendly tunes that put most radio rock to shame.
It also didn't hurt that the album was capped off by perhaps the best modern cover of Led Zeppelin's classic "Kashmir" this writer has ever heard. Not a band to slow down in their four years of activity thus far, Forming the Void are about to drop album numero tres in the form of Rift, which can be streamed in full below.
While there's no kickass cover tune this time around, the collection of songs found on Rift are more than enough to satisfy. Any self-respecting fan of stoner, sludge prog, or hell, even grunge, owes it to themselves to give this album a spin – and then some. Forming the Void are extremely adept at this style of music for being such a young band, which is a testament to how closely they've paid attention to the bands they admire but also their collective desire to make their music their own. Whether they're foraying into slightly-psychedelic prog territory ("Ark Debris," "Shrine") or venturing into sing-along riff bangers ("On We Sail"), Rift makes for a diverse listen that hearkens back to those classic albums that grab your attention and keep you coming back for more.
Rift drops this Friday, Aug. 17. Pre-order a copy here.
