It’s October and you know what that means. Spooky season is upon us! In an ideal world, kids of all ages would be gearing up to wear masks and run door to door in search of sugary sweets. There’s only one problem: We’ve been putting on masks everyday since March and some cities have gone as far to outlaw Halloween entirely this year. Talk about raining on a parade! Well Vanik isn’t having any of that. His latest album, III, is the heaviest treat you could ask for.
Vanik has been around the block a time or two. This long time veteran has spent nearly a decade as the live guitarist for Midnight, in addition to doing time with Eternal Legacy, Vandallus, and Wretch. He’s a well rounded guitarist who can play it all. It really shows in his namesake project. The easiest way to describe Vanik would be the audio equivalent of sticking an input jack in a jack-o-lantern, but that wouldn’t do them justice. So allow me to elaborate.
In keeping with the season, Vanik’s songs are tales of all things ghastly and ghoulish, dead and undead. Imagine your favorite scary campfire stories set to a crusty, metallic, D-beat driven soundtrack. Looking for lost Midnight B sides? Check out the fast and unrelenting speedsters, “Carmilla” and “Night Danger”. How about mid tempo Venom worship? “Running Wild” and “Deadly Beginning” are the poisons you should pick. What if you just want to punk it up UK82 style? Be sure to check the mirror after listening to “Raging High”. You might have a spiked mohawk!
Vanik’s vocals lie somewhere between Cronos and Misfits era Danzig, while his riffs are one part thrash and one part punk with a blackened coating. The rest of his band holds it down with tight metalpunk rhythms, recalling the glory days of the 80s. Whether you’re snacking on candy corn, bobbing for apples, or just looking for an excuse to rage in the name of Hallows Eve, III will perfectly fit your playlist, right between your favorite Misfits and Alice Cooper albums.
6 out of 10
Label: Austenitized Records
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Midnight, Venom, Misfits