Artist..: Vastum

Album...: Inward to Gethsemane

Genre...: Death Metal                | Label...: 20 Buck Spin
Year....: 2023                       | Cat.No..:

R.date..: 2023-11-09                 | S.date..: 2023-11-10

Source..: WEB (24bit)                | Encoder.: libFLAC
Bitrate.: 2998kbps avg.              | F.Rate..: 96.0kHz

http://play.qobuz.com/album/q8mx5kn065ina

Disc 1 / 1

01. In Bed With Death                                               5:36
02. Priapic Chasms                                                  6:29
03. Stillborn Eternity                                              6:04
04. Judas                                                           1:41
05. Indwelling Archon                                               4:57
06. Vomitous                                                        5:16
07. Corpus Fractum                                                  7:58

(862.13MB) 00:38:01

Envisioning the colonnade of pain and torturous death ahead step-by-step
thy savior’s abhorrence would manifest a siphon for the mind’s resolve as
his hesitation famously begat trembling guilt and a stroke of bloodied
desperation in the garden of Gethsemane. Listless among the olive trees
and frantically begging commune with his god-father, the soon to be flayed
martyr quickly realized he’d not be spared an ounce of agony prophesied.
Dismissed by the creator and shaken into anxiety beyond his naked pleas
this horrified state of mind was enough to drive the body to
hematridrosis, a mindset of such intense existential fear and anxiety that
the body sweats in watery waves of reeking blood. Sanguine sweat per the
revelation of the forced fate of the god-son offers just one dark window
into the elusive mysteries of Oakland, California-borne death metal
quartet Vastum‘s fifth full-length album, a feat which returns us to their
cruel realm of death-erotik pummel in seeming muse upon terror,
molestation and submission. ‘Inward to Gethsemane‘ once again attacks the
senses of those who reach for the depth of meaning in death music first,
lacking none of the subversive symbolic depth these folks are known for
while also hammering home the obvious grotesqueries of each vignette as it
comes into focus. Unnerving, warping the mind’s path with a heartily
disgusted yet strangely torpid tone and wild-eyed delivery these folks
once again iterate upon the miserable dread of their prior actions, thusly
following exacted parameters in crafting mid-paced death metal textures
which romp and stretch in development of coldly surreal statement.

Formed circa 2009 Vastum gathered as a crew of five folks from the
Oakland-area extreme metal/metalpunk milieu during a time when key members
of Acephalix were increasingly aimed toward their interest in death metal.
The folks assembled all but guaranteed a unique result and for my own
taste their first two records with Kyle House on guitars, particularly
‘Patricidal Lust‘ (2013), earned quick fandom from me per a disturbed and
unique aesthetic/personae within the ‘old school’ adjacent mid-paced death
metal mind palace. A dual-vocal approach, dark psychosexual lyrics and
very strong production values would come to define their gig as a third
album (‘Hole Below‘, 2015) introduced new guitarist Shelby Lermo (Ulthar,
Human Corpse Abuse) and a different sort of tension to their already
atmospheric yet still very riff-driven sound. If there is an easily
perceived progression we can identify in rushing through the catalog of
the entity it is one of increasing interest in atmosphere, leaning into
the Incantation-esque reaches of doomed death and I’d say the sludgier
bounding of Morbid Angel beyond the more kinetic, abrupt shuffle of their
first few releases. ‘Orificial Purge‘ (2019) seemed to be the peak of this
idea, and one of my favorite releases from the band to date overall, but
as we step into ‘Inward to Gethsemane‘ this new release is perhaps the
most patiently developed, inner abysm-cast iteration on their modus to
date.

There is a droning, unfocused callousness to ‘Inward to Gethsemane‘ that’d
made its first impression simmer in mind to start. Vastum have been so
consistent in terms of their production values, frequency of riffcraft,
and such that this one still felt like it had all the right moves but this
time they’ve lead with a shove back to a double arm’s length distance. The
body-horrible intimacy of past records is still there but much like
‘Orificial Purge‘ they’re less intent on simply rattling off ‘old school’
death metal riffs in one ear and out the other. Otherwise I’d begin to see
the hand of each member’s songcraft clearly creating a larger divide
between an interest in surreal atmosphere and their most direct
riff-punched momentum, these differences naturally resolve throughout the
full listen but there is some manner of uncomfortable tension which
lingers on the surface, and still manages to feel like a palpable
continuation of what Vastum have always been all about; Though I will
(once again) duck out of attempting any serious analysis for the lyrics of
vocalist Dan Butler and crew beyond what is plainly disturbing at face
value but I would venture that the music and lyrics are exacting in
complimenting mood and scene built for death metal’s inherent morbidity
thrust into face.

Upon this marbled altar, penetrated. — The album’s opening and closing
moments develop the proposed atmospheric indulgences most heartily,
drinking directly from the font they’ve long curated while boasting some
fresh vocal exaggerations and fluid atmosphere on “In Bed With Death” in
particular. If you’d felt like the prior album took few chances the less
than lucid drift felt on the opener here carries through most all pieces
found on ‘Inward to Gethsemane’ generally speaking, though the follow-up
of “Priapic Chasms” is the first big riff-driven groove up front which
emphasizes the stellar pairing of Earhammer engineering and Audiosiege
mastering, serving a song which will best pull in folks looking for boldly
stated rhythmic indulgence. For my own taste it would be “Stillborn
Eternity” which first grabbed me by both ears and yanked me into the album
face first, not only for the shuddering riffcraft and surreal backing
vocal chimes from Abdul-Rauf but for the spoken-sung deadpan from Butler.
One of my favorite signatures from the band is this style of vocal
intermingling which takes the mid-paced roll of a groove and gives it a
‘Disincarnate‘-era Loudblast surrealism with those eerie spoken temporal
lobe-set voicings illuminating certain pieces or moments within with
discomfort, insertions we’d found most often on ‘Hole Below‘ prior. The
rest of the song goes on to develop a few trashed-out transitions, crusted
and bounding quick changes and such in showcase a of a slightly more
fleet-footed Vastum which we haven’t necessarily dug into as adeptly since
‘Patricidal Lust‘. The first three pieces, or, Side A will be energizing
for the returning fan as we find the band are still getting weird but
haven’t cut the riff count for the sake of atmospheric temperament.

“Indwelling Archon” offers another reminder that these folks have always
had some direct relevance to the post-millennium exaggerations of the ‘old
school’ death metal zeitgeist of the late 80’s/early 90’s USDM scenario,
still rooted in this sense of self in terms of crafting their own tuneful
presentation but not locked into those tenets in an exacting sense any
longer. A few slaughterous riffs and big groove provides enough of a
centerpiece for the moment and modulation gives the impression of an
ominous, shifting but complete enough statement. A complicated way to
explain the efficacy of ‘Leprosy‘ and ‘Severed Survival‘ style riffs
invigorated by time (and some moshable side-stepping) but these sorts of
rhythms often feel like sorcery in Vastum‘s hands thanks to their rich
sonic depth and very strong rhythm section. “Vomitous” feels like a direct
extension of that piece for similar reasons, if not for its
rabid-and-rattled vocal tradeoff.

All modern paradoxes read the same, as announcements of death. — I’ve
never found Vastum‘s work anemic in terms of rhythmic interest, or, riffs
in general though in this case those bigger moments are inserted as spikes
within the waves where dread and distance, increasingly antisocial means,
set the scene on the horizon. I think this’d been most clearly showcased
as the astrally projected estrangement of closer “Corpus Fractum” arrives.
The two vocalists trading and colliding in their statements as this final
sluice of a song avoids the usual turn of phrase into brutality isn’t such
a shock to start but the headier drift which follows amidst its downward
facing chorales create a unique sensation which hangs in the air for the
next couple of minutes. As the guitarists thrash into a sort of early
Finnish death feeling cemetery crawl-and-roar section, flattening it with
double-bass pummeled motion rather than the expected d-beaten sluice,
completing the surreal stretch of the song which of course doesn’t read as
anything all that special on paper but it acts as a strong bookend to the
full listen. I enjoyed seeing more of this atmospheric and unpredictable
side of Vastum overall, we’d gotten shades of it on ‘Orificial Purge‘ but
this album seems to embrace the distance and create a deeper sense of
disillusionment with it.

‘Inward to Gethsemane‘ does a fine job reminding us of Vastum‘s
long-standing high standard for death metal which is viably atmospheric,
plentiful in terms of notable neck-shaking riffs which are at least ‘old
school’ adjacent in their tradition while also providing some manner of
evolution within each release. Though their work isn’t progressive the
deeper layers of meaning, expression, and arrangement are yet thoughtful
and symbolic in a profound way when examined under a closer-in aperture.
As I begin to count the virtues of their nauseating craft I’d have to
conclude this latest work continues to make the argument that their gear
is still very much worthwhile for my own taste. That said, this entry
might take a bit longer to bloom in mind and slowly shock with its
inward-set extremity and I’m not sure that moment will arrive for everyone
as there is an introverted tension which lingers through its presentation
that’ll may potentially read as subtle to anyone not already invested.

ixxu!imp