Body Void (usa), Eye Flys (usa)
Body Void originally formed in the spring of 2014 as Devoid with the aim to combine the most extreme elements
of hardcore punk and doom metal. Since changing their name in 2016 with the release of their full-length debut,
Ruins, they’ve continued to evolve and progress. In 2021 they signed to Prosthetic Records and released their
third LP, Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth, incorporating power electronics and drone into their sound.
In 2023, they returned with their most caustic and unhinged work to date. On their fourth full-length
Atrocity Machine, the trio turned further toward noise and industrial. Inspired by acts such as Wolf Eyes,
Pharmakon, and Killing Joke they contorted their pulverizing style of doom to fully embody the
nightmarish reality of a country seemingly built only to exploit and punish.
The band has remained more active than ever in recent years. They’ve maintained a consistent tour schedule
since 2021, hitting the road with the likes of Primitive Man, Uniform, Portrayal of Guilt, Mortiferum, Jarhead
Fertilizer, Spirit Possession, Elizabeth Color Wheel, and OvO, and appeared at such festivals as Roadburn,
Oblivion Access, and Levitation. In 2023, the band added Jacob Lee (Elder Devil, Keeper, Hellish Form) to their
live edition becoming a four piece.
Body Void's music can be found here:
Eye Flys are a quintessentially Philadelphian
band whose aggressive brand of noise rock is
leading a wave of bands that harken back to
classic era AmRep noise rock. Their rage is
palpable and their wit is biting. Hailing from
a city with a rich history of labor activism,
long associated with the hard working, the
underdog, the everyman. The trio’s grounded
nature, one of whom is an active trade union
member, imbues their music with a distinctive
fearlessness and honesty. Their acerbic wit
swiftly whittles matters down to their element, often reveling in the perverse humor of
our current state of being. Eye Flys are unsparingly heavy, driven by the colossal rhythm
section of bassist Kevin Bernsten and drummer Patrick Forrest. Vocalist/guitarist Jake
Smith delivers sharp humor with a healthy dose of venom and bile with each bestial growl
while his dirty riffs roar at you. Recorded by Bernsten at his own Developing Nations
studio (Full of Hell, Integrity, Jarhead Fertilizer) and J Robbins’ The Magpie
Cage, the band’s self-titled album features artwork drawn by artist and drummer John
Herndon (Tortoise), known for his singular drawings and his band’s iconic TNT cover.
Eye Flys wades deeper into the muck and mire of modern living to take an unflinching
look at the horrors of late-stage capitalism and offer a caustic remedy for its ravages.
Expanding on their bludgeoning debut Tub of Lard, Eye Flys is lean and aggressive, fast and
unforgiving. “Trepanation Summer”’s ferocious riffs bore directly into the skull, mimicking
the crude pressure release of the ancient surgical process of the same name, Smith crying to
“release the pressure” from within a wall of feedback. “Sleep Forever” throws down a thrashing,
infernal groove, demolishing all in its path as Smith’s craggy guitar figures rise like toxic smoke
from the devastation. “Draining Pus” revels in septic sludge, while “Bananarchy Zoo” manages
to strip things down to an even more lean and incisive realization of the trio’s punishing
sonic palette, in an exploration of Smith’s love/hate relationship with his Florida roots.
A wall of rippling noise and distortion run as connecting threads through the album, the
band’s acerbic humor and raw emotion capturing the perspective and the frustration
of the hardworking everyman. The band grapples with the repercussions of coping
strategies with healthy skepticism and an eye on the gallows. Eye Flys offers a reassuring
reminder that you haven’t gone mad and you’re not alone – that weird ‘n’ heavy music is
still here as a respite from the madness of modern living and an outlet for righteous rage.
Artwork by @irrwisch_artdesign
