International supergroup Vltimas crashed upon the Earth early in 2015, dropping their well-received debut roughly four years later. Comprised of Morbid Angel‘s very own David Vincent at the mic, Cryptopsy‘s Flo Mounier manning the kit, and Aura Noir‘s Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen slinging axe, the project deals in grooving, swaggering blackened death metal singing Satan’s praises and glorifying the destruction of all the world. You know, the usual. And while their debut impressed me—bridging the gaps between legacies and heritages held by its constituent members without coming across as a total ripoff of any—follow-up EPIC doesn’t.
Where Something Wicked Marches In took full advantage of the talent on tap, and maximized the impact of several building blocks of Morbid Angel’s, Cryptopsy’s, and even Mayhem’s classic sounds and styles, EPIC finds itself at the mercy of clashing egos and unfitting songwriting choices. Gone are Vincent’s rabid barks and delightful rolled r’s, reduced are Flo’s blistering blasts and addicting double bass runs, and neutered are Rune’s usually venomous riffs and tremolo shimmers. Additional bassist Ype TVS (ex-Dodecahedron) and guitarist João Duarte (Corpus Christii) don’t stand out through their performances when surrounded by the band’s main cast, either. Worse than that, the evolution between Something Wicked Marches In and EPIC recalls, to a less extreme degree, the unprecedented deviations in style the public maligned when Morbid Angel progressed from Heretic to Illud Divinum Insanus. Granted, nothing here is as ill-conceived as the worst of Illud. Nevertheless, when I’m suddenly detecting similarities to Metallica‘s “Enter Sandman” and the half-growl, half-singing style of groove metal writ large, something’s up.
Discarding the unnecessary intro track, EPIC’s self-titled opener proper exposes right away some of the album’s weaknesses. Vincent’s vocals seems weakened and fried here, and the rough-hewn cleans possess a forced vibrato that is initially amusing, but grates as time wears on. Riffs in general sound recycled from both Morbid Angel’s catalog and even Vltimas’ previous work (notably, bits and pieces of “Something Wicked Marches In,” “Monolith,” and “Last Ones Alive Win Nothing”). More filler arises in tracks like “Miserere,” “Scorcher,” and “Nature’s Fangs” which fall more closely in line with the faster-paced, riff-focused blackened death of the debut, but lack distinct songwriting characteristics or memorable passages across the board. However, the worst offender is “Mephisto Manifesto.” Uncanny in its ability to lodge itself in my brain despite my best resistance, this track makes me cringe with it’s melodramatic, goofy delivery in the chorus. The lyrics are pretty standard Satan worship-core, but somehow when Vincent bellows “MANIFESTOOOOOWHOAAAH” a dozen times in five minutes, I can’t help but feel a twinge of secondhand embarrassment.
Concerning as those criticisms may be, at least a third of the material here rips just as hard as expected from the group’s collective pedigree. “Exercitus Irae” blisters and bulldozes everything in its path with a riffset and killer kit performance that lights a fire under my ass. It’s especially impactful to feel this rush of adrenaline after such a lackluster trio of songs before it. Late album highlight “Invictus” similarly matches the energy established by “Exercitus Irae,” while taking on tones and textures differentiated just enough by infectious grooves to give it a unique voice among this set. Additionally, there are nice little details that pop up here and there which momentarily make me question the harshness of my assessment. For example, even during some of the album’s worst moments, like the aforementioned chorus of “Mephisto Manifesto,” Rune and João manage to shoehorn a clever embellishment into what would otherwise be a dreadfully boring main riff that helps elevate it and give it some memorability. At under forty minutes, EPIC is also quite tight and lean, which helps to minimize the impact of its myriad songwriting issues.
When the dust settles, it’s hard to stifle my disappointment with EPIC. Without a shadow of a doubt, it should have been much better than this. Lackluster songwriting, ill-conceived choices in vocal delivery, and recycled material unchecked conspire to dismantle Vltimas’ seamless marriage of skillsets and influences exhibited on their debut. Consequently, I no longer understand the purpose of this project, or what the ultimate goal looks like. Of only one thing I’m certain: they should steer clear of another EPIC.
Rating: Disappointing
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Season of Mist
Websites: facebook.com/VLTIMAS | vltimas.bandcamp.com
Releases worldwide: March 15th, 2024
