III

Halloween heavy / speed metal lurkers Vanik are back with their 3rd full length album.

Eerie horror-style soundtrack synths start the record off to a suitably October-y beginning. Glorious riffs soar into life with magnificent energy ripping straight out the gate. Galloping drums back up the monstrous slew of morbid guitars and brutish bass lines with stunning lead work gleaming through the mix. Vanik is back and taking no prisoners. The speeding inferno ramps up the tension and with such a chunky production on the instruments, when the vocals join with their vicious snarls, the mix pulls together gorgeously for a totally killer assault of pure heavy metal horrors that pack one hell of a punch. Much like on previous Vanik releases, the speed metal glory is given a sleazy edge by some punky touches in the vocals and bass lines that elevate the heavy metal carnage to even catchier levels.

Crunchy and tight, the fearsome brutalities churned out seem effortless yet so intricate with the songwriting stepped up a notch since “II” while not losing any of the feel at all. Thumping rhythm guitars and drums really feel like a stake through the heart with a lot of the melody actually coming from the bass work and of course the phenomenal soloing that Mr Vanik himself lays down stunningly. A mix of vocals from harsher snarls to piercing wails give a plentifully varied performance of maniacal lyrics to suit the thrashing frenzy perfectly. There is a bit more atmosphere to this album that has a similar kind of feel to King Diamond (while not sharing so much sonically). Whatever this unique blend is, it’s catchy and absolutely memorable.

Diving in for round after round, the stupefying pieces of blistering metal goodness do not falter in their sway of creepy, grave-robbing anthems. Slower tracks give the ambience plenty of headroom while never overstaying their welcome or becoming boring, always getting straight back to the point. So an unwavering album, but does it have enough growth? The answer, in short, is yes. Each song melts beautifully into the next while still having enough variety to stand alone as a solid slab of monolithic songwriting and piercing musicianship. Progression is here, but so is that pure 80s heavy metal that we all want from a new Vanik release, so do not be disappointed it feels just as good but musically speaking is a touch better. Crushing stuff.

Vanik’s 3rd full length is a scolding lesson in horror-themed speed metal that is so damn 80s you can smell the petulia. This is one of those records that has buckets of fun to offer yet doesn’t feel insincere or like a parody of itself. This could be due to the main-man’s convictions being so unshakable or perhaps the fantastic musicianship, I imagine a mix of the two is the case. “III” is a total ripper, listen to it this Halloween (or before if you dare).

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com