And so it was that, after suffering through the utter dreck comprising HELL MILITIA’s newest half-assery, I needed the black metal version of a palate cleanse. Having no experience with VAAMATAR prior, but armed with the assurance that Iron Bonehead Productions is usually reliable for at least quality if not preference, we venture forth into Medievalgeist.
The title track arrives, synth, screams and sacrifice giving way to equally orgiastic glee, and the first thing that stands out is the surprisingly robust production. No ‘Several Species Of Small Armored Pandas Together In A Cave A Mile Away And Grooving With A Pike’ here, and there’s a time for such, be not mistaken. Here, the vocals grate, the riffs are elder, earthen as all Hell, rhythms rolling tank treads, incessant and undeniable, because VAAMATAR want you to hear – to fucking feel – the passion.
Resolute even at its midpoint – where a good many BM albums falter – ‘Hallowed Flesh’ is in turn invigorating [2:42-3:36], flaying and chaotic, the early Dodheimsgard reference from the one-sheet not incorrect. ‘Spit & Gravel’, grim-faced and lurking in anticipation of a morning star impacting, shattering a pitiful skull that speaks a power in presence that belies the duo’s age, able to move around within 8+ minutes of song without once becoming a bore.
Medievalgeist is a master class in how to take the wisdom of your forbears and make it your own. If this is VAAMATAR at the start, then I haven’t been as excited about a new black metal project in a long time. Reverent, yet reaching…
Review By: Lord Randall
VAAMATAR
Medievalgeist
Iron Bonehead Productions
4.5 / 6