(Roxx Records)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Multi-national band Vultures Gathering are a bit of a supergroup, featuring vocalist Chaz Bond (Jacobs Dream, Biogenesis), guitarist Ryan Roebuck (Motivik, Ritual Servant), and guitarist Andre Chiang (Necromanicide) from Malaysia. Chiang also performs bass and drum duty on the album. I assume this is a studio-only project, given their international status, but I suppose time will tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While The Hunt<\/em> is essentially power metal, it also has elements of traditional heavy metal, thrash, and even some death metal, though it doesn\u2019t ever fall fully into any of those camps. The songs are heavy, but melodic, mid-paced, and feature the occasional scream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first things you\u2019ll notice upon listening are competent musicianship, clean production, and heavy, heavy, heavy, . . . . well, you get the picture. Bond\u2019s vocals fit the music well, although they might take some time getting used to if you\u2019re not used that melodic-yet-gruff vocal approach. While each of the band members are well-versed in their respective crafts, at times the project feels the weight of being a studio project from distant members. It\u2019s not that they\u2019re not tight musically, or even together. It\u2019s just that it feels a tiny bit disjointed at times\u2014as if the band members are not sitting in the room together writing and playing. That\u2019s, of course, because they\u2019re not. Nonetheless, this is one of those releases that gets better each time you listen to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s consider a few highlights from the album, shall we? \u201cAt First Sight\u201d is super heavy, with layered riffs on top of riffs and Bond\u2019s signature crooning juxtaposed with some occasional thrashy singing. \u201cFalse Crown,\u201d the longest song on the album at 8:57, raises the bar by adding some high-pitched wailing from Bond. We\u2019re starting to catch a glimpse too of the band\u2019s formula\u2014ultra-heavy, crunchy rhythm guitars underneath a more melodic guitar riff. While that may sound basic, there\u2019s something about the way VG does it that makes it sound unique to my ears. The rhythm guitars (from Chiang) are what brings the thrash\/death vibe, while the melodic leads of Roebuck paired with Bond\u2019s vocals keep them securely in the power metal realm. There\u2019s also some occasional, very effective use of keys to add a little atmosphere to the sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The title track comes third on the disc, and here we see the band at their thrashiest in terms of the rhythm guitars, ironically juxtaposed with a synthesized string section reminiscent of the opening track \u201cRe-Inception\u201d from Grave Decay\u2019s From Dust to Dust<\/em> album from 2018. The track also reminds me a tiny bit of Megadeth. \u201cIn Paradise\u201d slows the pace down again, but with a very satisfying crunch in the rhythm section. The track centers on the thief on the cross and his final plea:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please remember me<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n When you come into your kingdom<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Please remember me!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n During my second or third listen, I noticed some very familiar lyrics that I hadn\u2019t noticed the first time around:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have plastic<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We have metal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We have oil<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We have steel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We have food stuffed in our bellies<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And we\u2019re big on sex appeal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wait! Those are Bloodgood lyrics from \u201cAmerica\u201d (from their Out of the Darkness<\/em> album). Vultures\u2019 version is very different from the original 1989 version, and yet it\u2019s a true re-working of the classic. However, I was surprised to see that the track was not credited to Bloodgood in the liner notes. Was that just an oversight, or a complication of copyrighting? Thankfully, they do acknowledge the original on the band\u2019s Bandcamp page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Album closer \u201cTruth Be Told\u201d again employs a layered vocal approach: Bond\u2019s high-pitched wail layered over the top of his baritone line. This track also gets close to thrash tempos\u2014close but not all the way there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a good power metal release overall, and a welcome addition to Christian metal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My rating: 3.5\/5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (Roxx Records) Multi-national band Vultures Gathering are a bit of a supergroup, featuring vocalist Chaz…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1020],"tags":[138,1682],"class_list":["post-9940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-roxx-records","tag-vultures-gathering"],"yoast_head":"\n