With
much of 2015 spent cooped up in writing sessions and locked behind studio
doors, Arizona thrash troupe Vektor were
always going to spread their wings in 2016, and with an army of blisteringly
progressive and technical, gilt-edged songs now adorning their arsenal, it is
no surprise they chose to smash through ‘Terminal Redux’ in its entirety
during this mini UK tour. And what an album it is. Sprinkled with some form of
pixie dust, or perhaps bolstered by main man David DiSanto bargaining away his
soul in some form of Robert Johnson type deal with the devil, however they have
crafted this album, it has thrust them into the heart of extreme metal’s war
cabinet.
From
shrill vocal shrieks to cannoning drum work and lusciously defined twin guitar
attacks, here is a record that has a sickening amount of tricks up its sleeve.
As, one by one, they give each trick– such as the sombre openings of ‘Cygnus
Terminal’, which morphs into a stomping beast of a song to the dextrous,
tapped guitar playing of its successor ‘LCD (Liquid Crystal Disease)’ –
they always remain engaging and entertaining. While many modern thrash bands
have the tendency to fall into a clichéd formulaic reiteration of the 80s
classics, Vektor prove to be much
more than just a thrash band
and here they parade their rich, coloured plumage before a sweat box of a room.
The
dingy old pub of The Star & Garter,
which nestles just a stone’s throw away from Piccadilly Train Station’s
bustling taxi rank, is the most fitting place for music as nasty and visceral
as this to mark its territory tonight. As the sky – barely visible through a
grubby window at the back of the stage – slowly darkens, and as the block of
flats whose figure cuts a striking silhouette upon it slowly becomes
illuminated, the temperature becomes increasingly stifling. You sweat, you swig
your beers quicker and you cheer even louder. The bludgeoning mess that is
playing out before you, even with the PA sometimes struggling to handle the
sheer attack of it all, is reciprocated in a packed-together crowd; one
detailed by battle jackets and bobbing heads.
Though,
as boisterous as this music is, it is always tactful in its chaotic expulsion.
The whiplash pace of ‘Ultimate Artificer’, one of the more out-and-out
thrash numbers, is well received alongside ‘Pillars of Sand’, a more
epic sprawling song mercilessly pocked with musical plot-twists and side
stories. Extreme their music may be, but thoughtless it is not.
Tonight
the band seems in complete sync with each other. As they bombard their
instruments they do so smiling, performing with a harmonious pleasure which
truly crowns their set. They make the 73 minutes of the album’s lifespan seem
much less – though dense with character and awe-inspiring moments – and that is
testament to both their song writing and performing abilities.
