Voidhâmmer “Noxious Emmissions”

Label: Caligari Records · Year: 2026

It’s been a long time since I came across a darkened death metal project with such a strong crust influence, so this genuinely made my day. Voidhämmer sends greetings to all you underground metal maniacs straight from Long Beach, California. They’re still a relatively new band, and this release is their very first EP, out via Caligari Records. The EP is available for digital purchase on Bandcamp, and it also seems to be released as a limited cassette edition of 150 copies, which definitely fits the raw, DIY spirit of this kind of music.

The band consists of three members, but from what I can tell, the drummer appears to be the main permanent force behind this new project. Musically, what we’re getting here is a brutal blend of filthy, shadow-soaked guitars and the kind of riff mentality that immediately brings to mind that Diabolic-style American death metal tonality; sharp, heavy, and violent in structure while constantly colliding with crust-driven riffs and drum textures. This isn’t crust “as a decoration,” but crust as a real backbone.

The overall result is pure American death metal, but it’s decorated — and strengthened by crust-style up-and-down dynamics, chunky breakdown turns, and those dirty rhythmic drops that make the songs hit harder. The vocals sit perfectly on top of it all: dark, guttural growls, deep and rotten, giving the music a sinister edge without killing its momentum. Everything fits together in a very tasteful way, as if the band already knows exactly what kind of atmosphere they want to create.

Whether they realise it or not, Voidhämmer are also channelling a strange but exciting hybrid: it feels like they’re performing a different variation of ’80s British death metal, filtered through an American death metal lens. And in certain moments, you can clearly catch that old Bolt Thrower / War Master spirit — not in a copycat way, but in that familiar sense of war-torn heaviness, crushing mid-paced power, and grim determination.

This EP is short, sharp, and effective — exactly the kind of first strike that makes a band stand out and proudly announce itself. If you’re into underground death metal, black metal, crust, or grindcore, you should definitely show this band some love and keep an eye on what they do next.