Vulvanic are kind of a “vibes” band. The latest ritual from the Peruvian foursome, a compilation of two previous demos, Scent of Black Angel and Ripper’s Secret Night of Murder, is chock full of riffs for those with the ears to hear them, but they’re so shrouded in a caustic stew of murk and filth and venom that the untrue will turn away of their own accord. Normality has no place here, nor the conventions of common music. This is the sound of the underground, and it has no mercy for pretenders.
The vast array of influences Vulvanic are drawing from are impossible to miss. There’s the obvious ones, like Darkthrone (the vocal production calls to mind Nocturno Culto’s classic performances before diverging into more abominable territory), but also the likes of Japan’s Sabbat and Sigh in its experimentation and Germany’s Katharsis or France’s Vlad Tepes for pure, raw fury. Most notable is the influence of more transgressive acts like G.I.S.M., whose ultra unapproachable noise-like sound is plastered all over both demos, the instruments practically exploding the speakers they’re spewing their aural filth out of. In their world, music is violence and violence is worship.
It can seem unfair to spend so much time name-dropping other bands, but black metal is notoriously a cult tradition within itself. It drags so many forebears knowingly into its newest concoction of evil that the end result somehow comes back around to sounding original again. Vulvanic aren’t quite there yet in terms of originality, but the spells they’re weaving here are so uncomfortable and authentic that the hideous residue left behind is impossible to look away from.
ブラックエンジェルの色合い / 秘密の夜の殺人者 is out now via Sentient Ruin and can be ordered here.
Words: Brett Tharp
