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VAULTWRAITH
Decomposing Spells

Hells Headbangers / Vicious Witch (2022)
Rating: 8/10

Esteban Walpurgis is one of those vocalists you will either love or hate, but his peculiar squawks are certainly interesting as they shift from black metal-styled snaps to creepy slurred commands. I guess this US act has always intrigued me throughout their previous brace of studio albums and Decomposing Spells is the sort of record I can linger within due to its horror-obsessed attitude.

If you like heavy metal like King Diamond then you’ll probably enjoy the occult-driven aesthetics of this ghoulish band who are more than happy to provide haunting orchestration, sinister and spooky trudges and unorthodox dynamics. This is evidenced on the shapeshifting ‘Of Skeletons And Metal’ whereby you become entranced by both doom and traditional metal, but there are also shades of black metal too.

Opener ‘Wax Cylinder Apparition’ trudges with a mid-80s Euro chug; it’s effective throwback metal that’s as musty as an old crypt as the drums clatter to the thunderous riffs. It’s a great way to open the opus as Esteban begins to snarl out another story, even bringing a deathlier growl to his style… and that’s how the album progresses. ‘The Devil’s Dish Served Cold’ begins with an eerie, mystical plod and Esteban really does test his vocal chords this time with his scratchy gurgle.

Elsewhere ‘Full Circle Possession’ brims with the same ghoulish gleam as another retro traipse enters the graveyard and tramples on the corpses that desperately attempt to escape from their murky holes. Meanwhile, ‘The Sinister Scythe’ has a more molten vim to its angles, almost briskly hissing with vim and metallic vigour, although ‘Carnivorous Coven’ is arguably the album’s zestiest track, beginning with a busy piece of axe work before resorting to that nefarious trudging again.

This is certainly atmospheric heavy metal, with the likes of ‘Church Burned’ and ‘Hearse Hauntress’ gleefully galloping through the graves like nimble apparitions enticing you into their foggy shroud. The latter is one hell of a doomy march and epitomises the odd yet compelling details of this devilish band. As I say, if you don’t mind the vocal gurgles then you’re in for a trick and a treat to the Vaultwraith beat.

Neil Arnold

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