Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Vastum - Hole Below (2015)

By the time album number three came around I was already fully sold on the threatening death metal of Vastum.  Whilst structurally questionable as an album, their sophomore effort still had some fine moments and still to this day I actively seek out most new releases from this band some eight years after first encountering them.  Hole Below starts with the largely spoken word introduction to the track Sodomitic Malevolence before it opens into a well layered piece of raging death metal.  The song feels unrestrained in delivery like all the component parts came together organically in some random jam session.  As a result it feels complete and memorable as all album openers should do.

We stray dangerously close to what killed the flow of Patricidal Lust when the above mentioned track only just finishes in time for Amniosis to kick in.  This is a more measured and riffy affair than the first track but again has that whole band feel to it, the drums for instance on previous releases had always worked as a subtle compliment to the rest of the instruments but here they seem to have carved their own space to deliver solid and consistent content without overwhelming anything else.   As with the opener we have some chanting, spoken word stuff going on which enhances the mood well.

The clumsily titled In Sickness and In Death opens with a more groovy sounding riff and the vocals of kick in straight away.  Despite the urgency of the vocal delivery and the riffing the track soon calms down to a chugging, machine like efficiency as it twists its way through five minutes of menacing and foreboding death doom.  The equally clumsy lead that gets delivered around the three minute mark reminds me so much of Autopsy that Eric Cutler could be sat on my face.

Vastum again stick with a six song format for this record and again i think it works well, more so given that this time around the whole album structure is spot on and very well paced.  The straight-up, in your face riff that opens Intrusions soon gives way to a more measured pace that twists again soon enough to keep the listener guessing.  Its swarming leads act like flashes of lightning to startle and confuse the listener further amidst the already swarming chaos of the maelstrom that Vastum build.  The chants seems to be a theme on this record as they are here again and used to good affect once more.

The addition of Shelby Lermo (of recent Ulthar and Extremity fame) on guitar seems to have brought the added groove to some of the riffs on the album.  The title track itself benefits greatly from this and builds into a superb frenzied attack on the senses as the riffs dial into your brainwaves.  The pacing here toys with the listener again, stretching the attention span nicely.  As you get through album closer Empty Breast with its direct and no nonsense approach you start to feel like you have been through a whole experience which had been lacking on previous Vastum outings.  It still is not reinventing any wheels but the band deserves recognition for still sounding interesting with a tried and tested sound after three records and never once trying to get flashy or showy.