Vastum - Patricidal Lust

This year has been so intense release wise, that I'm still catching on loads of pre-2014 releases. This being one of them from San-Fran death metallers Vastum. Patricidal Lust was Vastum's second full-length and was released by 20 Buck Spin in late 2013.

Vastum features a collective group of musicians with many years of experience, who know how to craft a death metal album and make the genre all their own. The cover art for Patricidal Lust conjures up some pretty lucid images too and fits the mood created by Vastum perfectly.

Tracklist:-

1. Seasons In The Claustrum (The Libidinal Spring)
2. Enigma Of Disgust
3. 3 A.M. In Agony
4. Incel
5. Patricidal Lust
6. Repulsive Arousal

Vastum’s sound is one of power and heft. The riffs at the beginning of Seasons In The Claustrum… are great sludge-laden giants. Thankfully, Vastum tread an old-school path on Patricidal Lust. They steer clear of modern influence and use their experience to project an image if evil though their song-writing. They make use of occult spoken-vocals and the only light that shines through is during the lead-work.

Vastum swings in different directions on Enigma Of Disgust. They first hit you with a thrashing intro, before slowing things down to a crawl (in death metal terms anyway). The rhythm that ultimately greets you during the verse is surprisingly upbeat. That rhythm remains a bedrock of the song throughout, only being replaced with slower passages at certain intervals. Vastum write songs that are earthy and benefit from being allowed to wind to a natural conclusion.

They sound truly vicious during 3 A.M. In Agony. The urgency exhibited in it seems to be propelled by the thrash that Vastum provided a glimpse of during Enigma Of Disgust. Those big riffs are back for the opening passages of Incel. As with the majority of Patricidal Lust, Vastum keep things low and don’t throw in too much higher-pitched melody. When they do add guitar melodies though, they still fit in with the claustrophobic atmosphere that Vastum want to project.

The title-track is my standout on the album though. At first it sounds more like a conventional metal record but when Vastum slip back into the shadowy murk, they seem to take on a different persona. That initial false sense of security makes the song sound even better, as it gathers in all the different facets of their music and condenses them into one, satisfying whole.

With Repulsive Arousal, the cover art of Patricidal Lust begins to make sense. It conjures up images of necrophiliacs and all manner of demons, engorged in the throws of deathly passion. That’s my take on it anyway! The song itself is utterly absurd in the best possible way. It ends the album on a real high, full of screaming lead guitar and heavy atmosphere. 

The thing I enjoyed most about Patricidal Lust was that even though it's clearly a technical body of music, Vastum has been able to make it sound simple and of a high quality. You don't often get that feel with death metal albums. To do it without relying on over-worked modern production is even better.

Stream it via 20 Buck Spin here -



You can purchase Patricidal Lust digitally from the above bandcamp page.

CD and vinyl versions can be purchased here - http://www.20buckspinshop.com.

Vastum Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vastum
20 Buck Spin Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/20buckspin