Review: VLTIMAS Show Potential But Don’t Follow Through on Epic
Supergroups can be a tricky thing. Sometimes the stars align and they do end up striking gold, but I’ve found that they rarely live up to the hype. There are a handful of notable exceptions, but outside of the occasional outlier it usually just ends up feeling like a cash cow meant to coast on the notoriety of the individual members, with little to no real chemistry to be found.
Sadly VLTIMAS, which also features legendary Cryptopsy drummer Flo Mounier and former Mayhem axeman Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen, falls in line with the majority. It’s a cool concept on paper, but the execution within their new album Epic leaves much to be desired.
Given that the lineup is filled with so many bruisers with a slew of great albums under their belts spanning multiple decades, you would think that we were in for one of the heaviest, most frenetic and furious albums to come out in years, and to their credit the music itself isn’t bad. Riff-wise it’s a pretty seamless blend of thrash and black metal, which obviously is right in Eriksen’s wheelhouse. He’s the only guy on this album I have no issue with whatsoever, the man clearly understood the assignment and showed up ready to go to work. No notes, kudos.
But man, if you’re gonna have Flo fucking Mounier in your band, then you better let that eagle soar. That dude is a genuine, certified, dyed-in-the-wool monster, which makes it all the more disappointing to hear him play almost nothing but 4/4 double bass the entire time. It’s like having Muhammed from Necrophagist show up to a guitar clinic only to play “Enter Sandman” and then pack up and leave. There are occasional bursts of really fast double bass and blast beats on a few songs, but that’s about it.
That’s it? You’re telling me you got the guy who helped write None So Vile, and this is the best he can do? His drumming on The Unspoken King was miles ahead of this, and that album tanked so bad that we all just collectively decided it never happened. Hearing a musician of his caliber play like this when we all know what he’s truly capable of is what stings the most.
And another thing, what the hell is with that weird vibrato in David Vincent’s voice? I know he’s gone on record to say that he wants to hear more clear enunciation in metal vocals, which I respect, but I didn’t think this was what he meant. Every time he belts it out like that it literally sounds like someone walked into the recording booth, grabbed him by the shoulders, and started shaking him as hard as they could while he was singing. It kept making me laugh, but not in a good way, because all I could think of was that top hat he always wears tumbling down to the floor. I swear, if I have to listen to that doofy-ass chorus from “Mephisto Manifesto” one more time, I’m gonna lose it. To be fair though, he doesn’t do the vibrato all the time, and in fact pretty much abandons it altogether and takes a more straightforward approach throughout the second half of the album, should you feel inclined to get over that hump.
Look, I get it. The man’s a legend and he knows it. He gave us the first four Morbid Angel albums, and for that we will forever be grateful. But then again, he also gave us Illud Divinum Insanus, so uhh… yeah. All I’m saying is the man clearly has an artsy side, and while I would never try to stifle anyone’s artistic expression, I’m also not going to sugarcoat it and pretend to enjoy something that doesn’t resonate with me just because of the name that’s attached to it. Besides, I’ve always been more of a Steve Tucker fan anyway.
Alright, I’ve torched this thing enough, let’s take a step back and try to end on a positive note. As I said, the album does get better in the second half, with a particularly shining example being the sixth track “Scorcher”. That one’s fast as hell and legitimately heavy, giving us a peek at what could have been and what I personally was expecting a lot more of. If it were up to me I would have made that one the closing track, since “Spoils of War” kind of fades out and ends with a fizzle rather than a bang. Additionally, “Invictus” is a much better use of Vincent’s harsh singing technique, giving Gregorian chant vibes in certain parts which add a ton of atmosphere. Nobody’s saying that these guys aren’t all talented musicians and songwriters, but this album just feels like a mountain of wasted potential.
At the end of the day, a band like this is going to gain traction and shift units no matter what I or anyone else have to say. It’s what supergroups do. And judging by the feedback from when Season of Mist began streaming the album on their YouTube page on Thursday, a lot of people seem to be really enjoying it. I’m not seeing what they’re seeing, but who am I to try to take that away from them? It’s not terrible, it’s just that I personally can’t get over a lot of the choices that they made. I listened to it all the way through multiple times to try and get as much out of it as I could, but it just ain’t for me. If you enjoyed it then more power to ya, I won’t stand in your way. But you’ll have to forgive me if I just go ahead and cue up Gateways To Annihilation again.
Epic is available now via Season of Mist Records.
