A few years back I got super into synthwave. I've since moved on, but one thing struck me as odd back then and still does to this day. You don't really see that many cross over acts within the genre - that is you don't see artists fusing synthwave with other genres. Abstract Void is a strong exception to that.
Taking the retrowave sub-genre of synthwave and mixing it with black metal, Abstract Void has created quite a nice little nook for themselves... one that not many other artists are in. In fact as far as I'm aware Abstract Void is the only artist that is recording in this space.
When I first heard of the projects existence I wasn't sure if the mix would work, but I decided to check it out on bandcamp regardless. When I did, the album sounded exactly as you would expect... and it works. It really works.
The execution here is so simple. The synths are front and center and dominant the music most of the time. The guitars are mixed a bit further back but are still audible. The drums alternate between what sounds like a real drum kit and the 80's electro drums you would expect from synthwave.
The album goes through quite a few ideas and atmospheres. Some have the typical retrowave sound to them, just with a helping of black metal on the side. Others are darker in tone and are more blast beat driven. Yet others sound nearly happy and are slower in pace. No matter what the song brings though the end result is always high quality and warrants repeated listens from me.
Back to Reality is the second album from this project and my personal favorite. It hones some of the best ideas that came out of synthwave and combines them with simple black metal. It shouldn't work as well as it does but god dammit, this stuff rules.
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