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Vadiat – Spear Of Creation

vadiat – spear of creation

Info

Vadiat are a four piece hailing from Ohio in the U.S.A. and ‘Spear of Creation’ is their debut full length set for April of 2023 this year. They perform a mix of ‘cleanly’ produced Death Doom metal that is in the vein of Incantation (for vocal style) meets Nile (with a lot of the guitar melodies such as on ‘Shadows Divine’). There is a lot of groove in the music and the music is pretty much mid paced to slow, which is where the Doom elements can be heard. But, the guitar work isn’t quite as slow or mournful as many fans might think. Right from the opening title track ‘Spear of Creation’ the guitar work is almost Melo Death ish and upbeat before going for the faster, darker parts. Some of the faster tracks like ‘Unearthed’ has the typical blast beat thumps and a little more rawness that sounds a bit like Undeath in the Old School Death Metal vein, but at the same time things do slow down a bit towards the end. Vocals are monstrous and very well produced- some might say over produced for this style of music- but they really stand out, where usually in a lot of Death Doom bands they are pushed back or are guttural and hazy to add atmosphere or an old school feeling. Here they charge forth with no holds barred pretty much ahead of everything else. Usually with over produced vocals there is a lot of electronic manipulation or it sounds like there is, but here Vadiat sounds pretty real, clear, and not quite as fake. A live show would definitely be interesting to see from them to hear how they compare.

Most of the album is comprised of the more meatier Death Metal tracks with a bit of a thicker sound here and there, but the polished sound prevents it from being overly hazy. A lot of guitar solo work in tandem with drums is what makes the music stand out, such as the work on ‘Empty Vessel’ which is one of the more thunderous and raucous tracks that ‘Spear of Creation’ has to offer. Certainly a pit starting song, it will appeal to the fans of more Brutal Death Metal like Cannibal Corpse and break anyone who falls asleep to the doomier parts. Vadiat do not really have any soft harmonic moments or clean vocal sections like a lot of more established Death Doom bands use but “The Entity” does feature some dark depressing guitarwork, almost along the lines of My Dying Bride. This is probably the band at their doomiest and gloomiest, though compared to a lot of their other work which is faster, it seems a little out of place. Plus the riffs are a bit repetitive, and the doomier tracks don’t quite have the groove to keep listeners hooked on the repetition compared to something like “Father Impaler.”

Other tracks like ‘Quarter Moon Chaos’ have a little more of that balanced Death Doom approach to the music with the guitar solos and riff tones. But even here especially when the chorus the more Groove Death elements still come into play and the vocals come out on top. Drumming is pretty consistent and solid throughout the album and even the bass is audible which is nice because in a lot of Death Metal bands unless they have their technical quiet moments it just gets lost. For those looking for a fine example of Death Doom, ‘Silenced Cries’ has its slow churn pace and a bit more Paradise Lost feel to the music, so those looking for the more depressing side of Death Metal will enjoy it.  The only struggle the album tends to keep up with is that Vadiat never quite seem to have that track where they unleash a surprise. The first half of the album is the more aggressive Nile style Death Metal and then the 2nd half between ‘Silenced Cries’ and ‘Darkness Proceeds’ – which crawls like Incantation with a cleaner sound- just seems a bit more relaxed and slowed down side of Vadiat.  But the tracks are still missing something to really grab the listener. Despite being well produced and clear like the earlier ones, they just don’t have any super memorable moments be it a sudden piano interlude or one hell of a solo to stand out, because all the tracks use the solos or vocals as the attraction point.

There is a cover of ‘Pray for the Dead’ by Heavy Metal/Doom band Trouble that sounds a bit different, but because Vadiat already does Death/Doom and is covering a Doom style song, it just sounds like a more cleaner Death Metal version that fits right in with the other tracks. Due to the pace, especially with that opening riff, it is one of the more ‘groove oriented’ tracks and extremely catchy. Ultimately though, if someone is looking for very well produced Death Metal that is mostly guitar and vocal driven with a lot of pulsing anthem songwriting, then ‘Spear of Creation’ is a great clear album all around that won’t disappoint. It has the attitude of the old school like Bloodbath but the polished sound of more recent Vital Remains.

Vadiat

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