On their upcoming sophomore album, Ov Sulfur delve deeper into the darkened sonic landscapes that defined the Las Vegas quintet’s 2023 landmark debut, “The Burden Ov Faith”. Catapulted by the return of ex-Suffokate vocalist Ricky Hoover, Ov Sulfur take a more metaphorical approach to the disdain for religion that drove their previous material. What would actually happen if eternal life existed? Eternal doubt, longing, grief, fear and more would drive humans mad. The message comes through loud and clear atop Leviathvn’s pummelling drums, with guitarist/vocalist Chase Wilson’s gravelly singing complementing Hoover; the vocal attack is pushed further live by latest additions bassist Josh Bearden and guitarist Christian Becker, bringing their performance to the next level.
The vocal dynamics and melodic choruses are extended to the max on Endless; songs like the hard rocking Wither and ballad Endless//Loveless are a logical extension to the band’s realisation that Ricky could belt with the best of ’em.
“I was originally only going to sing a soft intro to ‘Earthen’ on our last album,” reveals Hoover. “Once Chase and our vocal producer [for that album] Morgoth heard it, we reworked a bunch of stuff for me to sing more. That’s pushed further here. Chase even taught me to do falsetto in-studio (he actually took a video on his phone where I looked genuinely shocked I hit the notes because it was so new to me).”
Wilson expands on the vocal growth: “There is a lot of vocal interplay between the two of us, hinted at on ‘The Burden Ov Faith’s ‘The Inglorious Archetype,’ inspired by Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell. You can hear that on ‘Evermore,’ and we practically split ‘Wither’ down the middle; the song is about us both losing grandparents, so it’s super personal.”
That dynamism is helped along by vocal features from Johnny Ciardullo (Carcosa), Josh Davies (Ingested) and Alan Grnja (Distant), joining Ov Sulfur’s illustrious guest list that includes Howard Jones (ex-Killswitch Engage, Light the Torch), Alex Terrible(Slaughter to Prevail) and many more.
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