Album Review: Philosophobia - The Constant Void
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
European progressive powerhouse and supergroup, Philosophobia, return three-years after their self-titled debut with The Constant Void, the band’s sophomore disc. Featuring previous members of such bands as Annihilator, Kamelot, Pain of Salvation and Architects of Chaoz, and the vocals of Wastefall warbler, Domenic Papaemmanouil, this Dutch / Greek / German hybrid of a band have their work cut out following up the debut, which was widely lauded as one of the Progressive Albums of 2022.
The Constant Void is made of nine richly constructed tunes, stretching over an hour though, in fairness, a third of that is taken up by album closer, The Forgotten Part II’s epic twenty-minute duration.
However, before you prog-hounds reach for the skip button, The Constant Void has much to keep you occupied.
It all begins with the introductory sound of an urban Hellscape, a dystopia of sirens and late night police radio, with a calm narration. When the album proper begins, it does so with King of Fools’ blend of sharp, scintillating guitarsfrom Andreas Ballnus and booming drums, courtesy of Alex Landenberg, offering a sort of Seventies-meets-Modernity sound Opeth explore so well.
The additional keys of Andreas and Tobias Wegerber contribute to The Constant Void’s Dream Theater version of progressive metal, as the big, complex composition comes together in a dynamic whole. Later on, The Fall finds the band cycling through most of the aspects expected from a modern muso’s prog palette: the fat riffs, the musical flights of fantasy, the extended running time, and the deliciously smooth vocal.
Inside His Room is a multi-layered and multi-faceted five-minutes of intense proggy-style. Haunting vocals and solid, scene-setting riffs, lay a foundation for slicing guitars and emotive keys. Will You Remember? opens with slow melancholy, simple piano lines that sketch sadness and regret, before raising its head to the brightness and embracing a more uplifting closing section. Complete with voice over and snippets of dialogue, all add to the positive nature of the song.
Similarly comes Underneath Grassroots which, being one of the record’s shorter tunes, shows how Philosophobia does not need excessive running times to create an atmosphere. From the opening Diamond Head vibes of its intro, through the calming mid-section, ebbing and flowing with a restrained energy, to the Steve Rothery-esque guitar dance in the climax,this one eschews the need for bombast and lets the music do the talking.
The closest to pure metal mayhem The Constant Void comes is on the instrumental track f.40.8, which begins in rampaging form, pulsing bass from Sebastian Heuckmann, and some solid keys and refuses to let up.
The earlier referenced climatic The Forgotten part II is – unsurprisingly – the second part of a twin-song suite, beginning – again unsurprisingly – with The Forgotten Part I; placed early on the record, Part I crosses bouncing bass with massive riffs and a vocal performance from Domenic that at times drips with honey, while at other times growls with death-adjacent savagery. In the mid-section the band even adopt an Iced Earth sound in their delivery. Mixing speed and sound in an eight-and-a-half-minute precursor to the grand finale of Part II.
Scene-setting rain and choral vocals create a gothic atmosphere, morose piano accompanies Domenic’s tortured words in what is a remonstrance at the direction we find the world going, and a plea to look to simpler times. Set across twenty unskippable minutes, Part II is the epic conclusion all prog albums need, taking the listener of a journey through sound and emotion that will hardly leave you time or room to breathe.
If Dream Theater thought they had 2025’s Progressive honours all-sewn-up with the Parasomina album, then Philosophobia might just have rained on their parade.
