Vulture (GER) - Ghastly Waves & Battered Graves (2019)^{Release ID: 9507}

On occasion the  internet  does through up some interesting stuff in the various recommendation/album of the month threads scattered throughout the post-Facebook wasteland of internet forums.  On one such venture today I heard a song called "Fed to Sharks" and quickly allowed the 12 year old in me to immediately go all weak at the knees over the band's ultra metal looking logo and decide to immediately add Vulture to the top of my to do list on a Sunday afternoon.  Nine tracks and a very sore neck later it goes on record that this was time very well spent indeed.

Imagine if Destruction weren't just treading water constantly for the past 30 or so years and actually had some genuine song writing prowess to match their boundless enthusiasm, then you are quite close to the sound of Vulture.  Opener "Fed to Sharks" is corny as fuck in terms of a tongue-in-cheek song title but it feels authentic in its delivery, undisputed in its arrogance and veritable in its attitude.  The whole album conjures images of a thousand b-movie horror plot lines from its superb artwork through to the lyrical content of the music ("Dewer's Hollow", "Tyrantula" and the title track).

Add to this the painfully comedic names of the band members - S.Genözider and M.Outlaw form the dual lead guitar attack whilst the suitably aggressive sounding A.Axetinctör handles bass duties, leaving L.Steeler and G.Deceiver to keep the metal flag hoisted high on vocals and drums respectively - and you will find yourself listening to this with a smirk across your miserable chops I am sure.

Imagery aside, the band are clearly competent musicians and this shines throughout the release with the lead work being of particular note.  Granted, the cover of Thin Lizzy's "Killer on the Loose" is not the best but still fits the aesthetic of the record well enough to be forgivable in the grander scheme of things.  Metal Blade has some shite on it's label nowadays but this bunch of speed/thrash metal freaks are more than worthy of a listen.