Friday 22 November 2013

Vastum - Patricidal Lust (Album Review)



 

 

Album Type : Full Length
Date Released : 12/11/2013
Label : 20 Buck Spin

PATRICIDAL LUST, album track listing :

1) Libidinal Springs 06:06
2) Enigma of Disgust 07:10
3) 3AM in Agony 04:53
4) Incel 06:39
5) Patricidal Lust 05:30
6) Repulsive Arousal 06:52

Bio :

Once again the plodding, pulverization of this deviant San Franciscan VASTUM horde -- a pack of deviants hailing from such acts as Acephalix, Necrot, Hammers of Misfortune and other Bay Area underworld collectives -- will ooze forth via their 20 Buck Spin comrades, who exposed the band’s penetrating mid-paced exploration of filthifying death tones and riffage, as well as the darker and lustful side of human nature, through their thundering 2011-released debut LP, Carnal Law. The newly-aborted follow-up, seeping in filth and fist-clenched lunacy, bears the title Patricidal Lust

Review :

San Francisco's Vastum play grimy Death / Doom, the likes of which act like an inverted magnet that could set your moral compass into free-form rotation. Anchored in the low end, and probably the depths of hell, theirs is a sound that lurches and shuffles as a tribute to sickness. 20 Buck Spin is putting out their latest album, 'Patricidal Lust', and that label knows what's up. This record has had its mouth rammed full of groove, sewn up tight and choked to death on the stuff.

'Libidinal Spring' sets us in motion on a voyage of the damned, like a tugboat across the river Styx. Eerie intros are par for the course on most stuff of this ilk, but the band outdoes themselves here. The track then ushers in some really satisfying slow motion crunch. A lot of the time the sound gets lost in the rawness, and that's fine, especially for bands like this. But here the sound is crisp and you can absorb every sick lick, and every demented uttering. Great vocals, suitably filthy but mixed well with spoken parts too.

'Enigma of Disgust' airs more upon the slow Death side of the spectrum, great guitar work abounds and the drums switch up the pace with ease. The main riff is a catchy chug that is never at risk of being dumb, and it never outstays its welcome either. There's no guyliner here, folks - just some nose to the grindstone, meat and potatoes weight. Which gets the thumbs up around these here parts.

Another excellent cut is the suitably DM titled 'Repulsive Arousal'. Possibly the heaviest offering on the album, the opening sequence kicks real ass, all slow and putrid. The main riff is more great Death and Doom butchery (meant entirely as a compliment), with some real body to it. It's a brutal track that climaxes in even more brutal fashion; the finale of double bass will re-arrange your spine through your ears if played at suitable volume.

If you liked Autopsy's tremendous 'The Headless Ritual' from slightly earlier this year, you'll seriously dig this Vastum record. It ticks all the boxes, and might just end up putting you in one. A morose headbanger's delight, grab it while it's suitably lacking in the fresh, if you catch my drift.

Words by : Matt Fitton

You can buy it here
 

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