Vanta is a relatively new face in the Australian metal landscape, but they’ve been steadily releasing material since 2023. This year’s Perpetual Selection full length follows the Gravemind EP, which found the band offering up lengthy melodic death metal with dips into metalcore and blackened death metal. But rather than simply retaining that same blend of genres, Vanta has refined their approach and tightened things up with a greater emphasis on intense and varied songwriting. There’s a noticeably more technical slant than before, and whether you like melodeath, tech death, or everything in between this album is sure to have something to catch your attention.
Despite the fact that it features five more songs than Gravemind, Perpetual Selection is only ten minutes longer and that really showcases how much more compact Vanta is on this release. It’s an approach that works to their advantage, as the material has a chance to breathe but doesn’t overstay its welcome and there’s a good amount of variety on display. Opener “Empty Shell” does a good job of pulling you in with a slower build-up that lets the atmosphere expand before the band speeds things up and pummels you with melodic and blackened death metal, and while there are some lulls around the two minute mark where the guitars seem to meander for a bit too long the song does finish off strong. From there the group hops around stylistically, as “Kuyang” has speedier and sharper riffs that give off hints of The Black Dahlia Murder while “Sacred Light” treads the line between blackened death and deathcore. On the other end of the spectrum are tracks like “Stillwater”, which still have the blackened edge but push into technical death metal’s speed and precision. I like Perpetual Selection the most when all these elements intersect, as this is where the riffs have the most staying power. Not every song quite reaches these peaks and a few of the chug heavy moments do drag slightly, but it’s clear that Vanta has taken a significant step forward.
On the vocal front Vanta mixes the usual high screams/shrieks and low growls that is common for this type of death metal, but they don’t do the back and forth in a way that feels quite as stereotypical. It does feel like they shake up when the highs and lows overlap from song to song, as tracks like “Sandstalker” favor the high ranges while “Kuyang” has the two working in tandem. Towards the end the growls take on a faster cadence that reminds me more of something like Archspire, and while it’s not quite the same warp speed “Transmorcide” and “Purity” do reach some similar levels that drew me back to them. There are also some moments that hit some Cattle Decapitation sounding distortion, which gives Vanta another style in their arsenal. Comparing what they’ve done here to Gravemind, it’s clear that this is another area where the group has really evolved their approach.
There are a few sections where the slower grooves overstay their welcome and Vanta does have room to further take this blend of styles and truly make it their own sound, but there is a lot to like about what they’ve done here. Some of the core elements remain from their EP, but the focus has shifted into a lot more blackened and technical death metal to supplement the melodic death metal foundation and the increased emphasis on speed and high-flying riffs makes a big difference. Considering they’re only a few years in at this point, the future seems bright for this group and I’ll be interested to hear how they continue to expand.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg