Are you a fan of the forlorn? A maniac for melancholy? Perhaps you have a mere soft spot for sadness? If so, I have a little treat you may look forward to.. There have been accounts of a strange collective of individuals dwelling around Cape Town. They have been reported making sounds of sanity breaking bleakness, shattering the will of those who would hear their sorrowful song. Our team of specialised investigators have made some startling discoveries concerning this band of bereavement. These are their findings:
They call themselves VastVale and appear to be storytellers of sorts. We are still uncertain of their purpose, though it seems that they aspire to inspire fear in their fellow humans. They are human, yes; as far as we can tell. Perhaps they wish to warn us of something?
What we do know is that they are releasing a sonic record (an EP) in two days’ time (30th of May). I have had the opportunity to listen to this record and here is a whisper of what you may hear when they release it to the public.
An ominous opening to the album soon leads us into a crushing riff and gloriously guttural vocals. I’m not the biggest fan of the digital instrumentation used for the strings and keys, but When Last I Slept is a solid song and good introduction to the EP.
Captured in Collapse bursts forth with immense black metal madness. The terrifying tremolo and pounding percussion builds up to one of the grooviest and heaviest riffs imaginable. There’s a key change that happens as we head into the verse. I feel like the transition is a bit unnatural and that much of the energy that had been built up falls flat. The clean vocals are missing the mark on this one in my opinion. I really liked how clean vocals were utilized in the opening track, but feel like they distract from the impact of this particular song. When the groovy riff from earlier returns with guttural vocals.. Oh man.. THIS is where it’s at! I love the intermediary sections; the instrumentation is stellar.
I also struggled with the clean vocals on A Star Eternal. I can hear the potential and it reminds me of some of the work Morean did on Alkaloid’s “The Malkuth Grimoire” album, but the execution is not quite on the mark. The guttural vocals are amazing though.
The closing title track, So Dimly I Tread is drenched in melancholy and brings a beautiful, yet sobering close to the album. The album tells a story of ‘the old man’ – an immortal being, wandering the wastes of a post-apocalyptic planet, as he comes to grips with the overwhelming isolation of having to witness everything and everyone perish around him.
Dwell in Darkness. Live in Light.
-Lunis Voidbright-