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Endspace – First Contact Review
Death metal cornered the metal-and-SF market ages ago, but black metal has moved on its turf in recent…
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https://www.europesays.com/ie/720777/ Endspace – First Contact Review #AndOceans #2026 #30 #BlackMetal #CanadianMetal #DeathMetal #Éire #ElectronicMetal #Endspace #Entertainment #FirstContact #FractalGenerator #IE #Imperialist #IndustrialMetal #Ireland #Krallice #LabyrinthusStellarum #MorbidAngel #Music #Oct26 #Review #Reviews #TranscendingObscurityRecords #Vorga
Death metal cornered the metal-and-SF market ages ago, but black metal has moved on its turf in recent years. Bands like Imperialist and Vorga adopt the aesthetic trappings and lyrical conceits of science fiction while trem-picking their guitars and blast-beating their drums. Others, like Labyrinthus Stellarum, go further, giving the music itself an alien, otherworldly quality by heavily incorporating electronic instruments. Checking all these boxes are Canadian duo Endspace: a cover that looks like the Tesseract from Interstellar, numbered “Transmissions” as song titles, a healthy dose of synthesizers and vocoders. And yet, Endspace seem to go even further, claiming they ‘create music that is light years ahead of what we’re accustomed to hearing.’ In deigning to make First Contact with us earthbound mortals, Endspace set extra-galactic expectations for their debut album.
To craft an experimental take on black metal, Endspace draw from veterans of experimental death metal. Shrouded in mystery (and masks [and shrouds]), a bit of internet research reveals that the band is comprised of 040118180514 and 102119200914. You might recognize these UPC codes from Fractal Generator, whose grindy brand of technical death incorporated touches of blackness. On First Contract, Endspace render black metal the centripetal force, though elements of its members’ necrotic origins orbit in the distance. The expected cacophony of blast beats and trem riffs initiates the call (“First Transmission”), but it doesn’t take long for a Krallicey version of black metal to surface (“Second Transmission”) and resurface (“Sixth Transmission”) via futuristic finger tapping. Endspace also know where the intergalactic slime lives, occasionally doling out some downright filthy riffage, reminiscent of Domination-era Morbid Angel (“Third Transmission,” “Seventh Transmission”). First Contact feels like black metal at its core, yet it doesn’t feel completely pinned down by it.
The big question is whether First Contact’s electronic instrumentation comes off as sci-fi style or substance. As a constant presence, the vocoders are constitutively substantive. Vocals usually mold an evil/aggro mood in black metal, so filtering the harshness through vocoders does give them a distinct artistic purpose within the genre. Indeed, the vocals read as radio waves: electromagnetic radiation wending its way through spacetime (“Fourth Transmission”). The synthesizers also ever-presently vibrate throughout First Contact, though Endsapce occasionally spotlight them. Midway through the “Fifth Transmission,” for example, the duo bust into an EDM-style bounce akin to …and Oceans, sure to get nightclubs on Nebulon 5 raving. The relatively dense production ends up being something of a Fermi paradox. Everything is discernible, but I can’t help but want more breathing room and, ergo, vaster soundscapes. And yet, I imagine Endspace wanted to capture the suffocating vacuum that is outer space. Despite the odds, they provide evidence of extraterrestrial civilization, though not as profoundly as advertised.
Endspace achieve a surprising degree of listenability for their experimental space-black by hitting a few Goldilocks zones. Concerning track length, no single “Transmission” feels like a fleeting intimation of weirdness, given the three-plus minute minimum. And yet, at a maximum of under five minutes, no “Transmission” feels like a desultory smorgasbord of ideas, either. Each possesses its own identity, whether it’s the floating guitar work of the “Second Transmission,” the house pulsations of the “Fifth Transmission,” or the creepy buzzings of the “Ninth Transmission.” Concerning album length, Endspace know not to overdo it on a First Contact, as evinced by the under 40-minute runtime. The album benefits from its plurality of vibes, even as its track naming convention suggests conceptual holism. The overt death metal stylings of the third and seventh “Transmission”s keep the album fresh without sounding like obtuse space junk. The name of the game is establishing lines of communication, some of which will pique a listener’s curiosity more than others.
And pique my curiosity Endspace did, continually. I wouldn’t go so far, though, as to categorize their debut as utterly avant-garde. First Contact challenges, but it readily engages more than it seems like it would. It consistently interests even as it lacks true standout moments (“Fifth Transmission” notwithstanding). This may be to Endspace’s future benefit, as the duo demonstrates focus on forging a unique sound, rather than forcing listeners to trace an arbitrary line between celestial objects. Endspace have a bigger, bolder transmission in them, it’s safe to say. For this, we patiently wait on Sol 3, with our antennas open to the callings of the cosmos.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: Facebook
Releases Worldwide: October 2nd, 2026