Like the bloodthirsty predators they are, Teutonic thrashers Vulture have come swooping in with their fourth full length display of high speed brutality, Sentinels. Has it really been a few years since their last outing, Dealing Death? Indeed it has, and our heads are still spinning. For all intents and purposes, this band has taken Metal Blade back to their roots, channeling the intensity, energy, and purity of those ’80s classics that forever cemented the label in infamy. Perhaps Slagel should nab more bands from the likes of High Roller and Dying Victims? Just thinking aloud here folks.
Anyways, the last time I heard from these maniacs, I was taken aback by not just the abundance of speed per usual, but the increased presence of traditional metal influences. Ironically enough, in the time that has passed since, 3/5 of Vulture embarked upon a traditional metal side project named Luzifer, our review of their debut album, Iron Shackles, of which can be found here. That love of the NWOBHM, early Scandinavian metal, and US power metal runs rampant through their blood, and inevitably can’t be contained to a side project. In this regard, Sentinels is the most traditional leaning Vulture album to date.
From the vampiric Maiden leanings of “Realm of the Impaler” and flat out Mercyful Fate worship of “Draw Your Blades”, to the colossally Teutonic onslaught of “Gargoyles” and glorious closing march of “Sentinels (Heavier Than Time)”, Sentinels is filled with traditional metal influences. Guitarists S. Castevet and M. Outlaw lay down well thought out, ultra-melodic guitar leads, while frontman L. Steeler occasionally veers off into King Diamond territory, which is always a welcome trope. And yet despite these traditional forays, at no point does Sentinels lose its core identity, and that’s as yet another violent slab of thrash circa ’84.
If you’ve followed Vulture this long, you’re well aware of what you’re going to get in the thrash department. You also know there’s few, if any, who do it as well as they do. The ungodly screams and machine gun riffing of the opening “Screams from the Abattoir” lets us know they’re not playing around, ready to split skulls one supersonic outburst at a time. Cuts like “Unhallowed & Forgotten” and “Where There’s a Whip (There’s a Way)” (not to be confused with the Faster Pussycat song of the same name) boast USPM-esque choruses reminiscent of early Metal Church. Meanwhile, “Death Row” and “Oathbreaker” hit us where it hurts, taking no prisoners from beginning to end.
If Vulture are sworn to avenge and condemned to hell, then avenge they have and condemned they forever shall be. Yet again, they have provided headbangers with a masterclass in thrash songwriting, performance, and even production. Seriously, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to an album of this nature for the rhythm section to be featured and heard as prominently as they are on here. Call it “heavy thrash”, “thrashing traditionalism”, or whatever may have you. I call Sentinels 110% kickass and then some!
9 out of 10
Label: Metal Blade Records
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Exodus, Razor, Iron Maiden