We’re close now—Christmas is juuuust around the corner. Stockings are hung, the goose is getting fat, etc. But if you’re still having trouble getting into the holiday spirit, consider checking out Oakland black metal act Void Omnia tonight. What does Void Omnia have to do with Christmas? Absolutely nothing! But they’re a heck of a band, and put out one of the better heavy albums of 2016, even if it flew beneath the radar of most of the year-end list-making types. The record’s called Dying Light, and it’s an ambitious slice of atmospheric black metal, with blast beats and strangled howls sitting alongside big, melodic sheets of electric guitar that brighten up Void Omnia’s sound. The result is both beastly and beautiful, like what fellow Bay Area lightning rods Deafheaven might sound like if they were to push back against their post-rock proclivities. Void Omnia: truly the reason for the season. BEN SALMON