Vastum / Spectral Voice

Split seven-inch vinyl with two such fantastic bands like Vastum and Spectral Voice is just a must to have in collection. You should not hesitate even for a second, but get a copy before this vinyl is sold out! Dark Descent released this small piece of wax and I love how they did it, especially the layout, which resembles all these old, classic death metal seven inches from early 90's. It really looks "old"! What a nice idea.

And musically, this release is exactly what you will expect to hear from these two bands. Old school, obscure, grim and fuckin heavy death metal, which will crush your every piece of flesh and turn it into bloody, disgusting pulp. It's gonna squeeze all liquids out of your body, like you squeeze your lemon and slowly tear all limbs. Fuckin sonic death metal torture! I actually like Vastum's "Gagging on a Gash" a bit more over Spectral Voice's "Katabatic Depths", as their riffs are more memorable, more crushing and deadly. I also like vocals in Vastum more. Anyway, "Gagging on a Gash" is relatively slow to mid paced death metal monster, yet it sounds very powerful and massive, with good feeling and proper horrid atmosphere. "Gagging on a Gash" is much more savage, vicious and faster, but the atmosphere in this song is super awesome as well, so damn bestial and horroresque. I've heard better songs from these two bands, if I can be honest. Which doesn’t mean they sound boring here! Both are solid tracks and it’s always a damn pleasure to listen to these two bands.

Verdict: 75/100

The Bay Area and the state of Colorado are home to many of the best American metal bands active right now, so why not take a few of them, slap a split together and call it a day? Vastum is just one of many incredible death metal groups from San Francisco and her surrounding cities, and most anyone casually interested in death/doom know Spectral Voice as the genre’s latest and greatest darlings. Both of these songs are leftover tracks recorded around 2015, but there is no shortage of variety and memorable riffs here.

“Gagging on a Gash” is an extra song from the Vastum LP Hole Below, and it very well would have been the best track on the album if it was included. Vastum mostly play at a midpaced tempo, without dipping fully into doom territory. The upbeat style of riffing at 1:15 in this song does resemble Bay Area heroes Autopsy, but with a more grim approach; Vastum alternate it with massive chugging grooves that hit a lot harder the occasional cheerful stoner bounce that Mental Funeral used. Both the faster and slower moments here have a hypnotic, steamroller effect where each riff feels like a minor variation of the last, and they don’t stop coming until you’re overwhelmed. This song has the superior production of the two, with a great crunchy tone that supports the more mosh-oriented approach used. Although Vastum is usually a little more refined as far as retro-OSDM goes, this song in particular has an aggressive, knuckledragging feel which would appeal to fans of Gatecreeper or Scorched.

From my understanding, “Katabatic Depths” is the fifth Spectral Voice song written (discounting untitled rehearsals). It was recorded after their first song belatedly released on their split with Blood Incantation, and the following demo Necrotic Doom, but preceding their 2016 split with Phrenelith and their 2017 debut. Unsurprisingly, it feels like the perfect union of the more riff-focused style of the demo, and the more expansive and funeral doomed Eroded Corridors of Unbeing. “Katabatic Depths” opens with a nasty Finndeath riffs, before slowly hinting at the approaching doom section. When it arrives, it sounds excellent, with the usual Disembowelment melodies ringing out over the crashing cymbals and popping snare. The riffs swell louder as the pace picks up again and WOAH – a massive fucking breakdown appears? No joke, at 3:20 there is a BIG RIFF, the kind that Homewrecker or Harms Way are seething in anger for not writing themselves. The breakdown eventually gives way to grimy tremolo riffs again, and a loopy little Blood Incantation lick wraps up the track.

It’s pretty impossible for me to pick out my favorite song of the two: “Gagging on a Gash” is more consistent with its riffage, spreading out mosh evenly over the song, while “Katabatic Depths” contrasts its doom section with one of the heaviest and greatest riffs SV ever wrote. You can’t lose either way with this split, so fans of crushing, midpaced death metal will need to pick this up. These songs don’t deserve to be lost behind these artists full-lengths, so do your part and keep them alive!