For those who like their heavy metal taken straight up, Chilean warlords Vastator might just be the thing for you. Fronted by what sounds like hell’s own banshee and recorded on what was, presumably, a relatively low budget, ‘machine hell’ is both elevated and castrated by a surfeit of ideas and vocals that can loosely be described as ‘enthusiastic’.
Openign with the title track, the first realisation is that Vastator lack the heavy bottom end of so many metal bands today. While a strong bass presence is not essential, and there are many elements which work in the band’s favour, it does see them sounding markedly less heavy than their obvious competitors. Equally the complexity of the riffs, can, at times detract from the overall flow of the music – a problem most clearly seen on ‘8.8’, the album’s second track. Meanwhile the vocals are either awesome or utterly ludicrous depending upon your standpoint and this is going to be a major factor as to whether you enjoy Vastator or not as Sr Diaz, while talented, belongs to the school of thought that a song isn’t complete without a high-pitched wail that will alienate as many as it captivates – not that you’d imagine he gives a damn. For my own tastes, the vocals are obviously talented and well done, but I prefer a slightly less strangled approach. An early album highlight, ‘the gods give no reply’ is a fast and furious track featuring a guest appearance from Veronica Freeman on vocals and a heavy guitar riff overlaid with intelligent and well-played bass. ‘Fiend’ is slightly less successful. It utilises fairly typical Iron Maiden structures for the composition, but the vocals are too histrionic to match Bruce’s more subtle delivery and they rapidly cloy.
More successful is the fast, ugly and downright brutal ‘X-terminate’ which sees the vocals far better suited to barrage of guitars and over-loud bassand it’s hard not to want to jump into a circle pit for this flash of genius. ‘Hawker hunter’ is equally enjoyable with Metal Mike appearing on guitar and Gerardo Barrenechea outdoing himself on percussion. Unfortunately a piano-led ballad – ‘Reminiscence’ destroys the celebratory mood and reminds you again how easily an unfortunate vocal delivery can destroy a song. The sound of a motorbike raises hopes during the intro to ‘Combustible en la sangre’ which once again sees the music match the singer and the band hitting a decent metal stride which is far more appealing than their take on ballads. Another strong song, it is here that fans will find the most to enjoy as the band put their heads down and aim for the finish line in a blaze of fast guitars and sweat. Equally ‘punado de almas’ is a fun track which continues in a more successful vein than the faltering first steps of the album thanks to a decent guitar attack backing Diaz’s unhinged delivery. ‘El ultimo Grito en el inferno’ sees the band reference Black Sabbath via Edguy for a slow, dark track before closing with ‘Caleuche’ which, oddly, starts off like the soundtrack to some early-seventies horror movie.
While Vastator most certainly do not lack talent, the cheap production and the overly histrionic vocals certainly do not serve their intent. While they may aim to join the ranks of the classic artists via hints of Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, their extreme vocal approach (somewhere between Danni Filth and Rob Halford) will not endear them to a wide audience and the production, while not necessarily the band’s fault, sadly lacks the punch they are so often aiming for. That said there are moments of brilliance – the guitar riff on ‘The gods give no reply’, the latter half of the album where the band have come into their own and the vocals work better against the belting backdrop of crushing guitars and the unhinged delivery of ‘Combustible…’ but ultimately this is a disappointing effort from a band whom you suspect are capable of more.
