Since being exposed to too much Kerrang! as a pre-teen/teenager, I never really got on with the modern metal scene. Instead opting for the thrash metal and alternative metal classics from before I was born, just another act of teenage rebellion I suppose – who needs Avenged Sevenfold when you have Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power?
As I’ve gotten older and wiser, and discovered other avenues and genres of music that weren’t linked to music TV I have grown a greater appreciation for the modern landscape of metal and all its sub-genres. A genre that is destined to keep evolving as much as it is set on eating itself, there can only be a small window for metal bands to get their break onto the levels of your Download headliners it seems. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t small flashes of greatness to come though.
Coming in hot with their fourth album the Illinois trio VCTMS have unleashed Vol. IV Numb the Ache. An entirely self-released and DIY band, this album could stand up well against anything that has come from a major metal label. The production is pristine without being that over polished. The riffs are punchy and the vocals are descended straight from the depths of hell. However, much to my dismay when I hit play on this album the first thing that bellowed out of the speakers was the iPhone alarm tone – wait a minute – nope that’s a dischord. This was immediately a problem for me. This screech kicked a frantic instinct alive in the reaches of my psyche, bringing back every cold winter morning waking at the crack of dawn to go to my mindless retail job. Maybe this says more about me than it does about this intro track, “What Doesn’t Kill You”.
“Carefully // Caged” featuring Spite vocalist Darius Tehrani truly launches the album into gear, with the chugging pulses of the guitar bringing all the momentum as you hurtle through this unstoppable force. Tehrani’s death growls pepper the track which doubles down on the heaviness of the track. Similarly on “Carve”, the intensity is turned up on all fronts with the relentless, punchy kicks paired with the ferocious vocal performances from both Daniel Defonce and guest Jake Wolf. The vocals are a big reason why I got on with this album better than I anticipated. On every track they are fierce and filled with passion, “Hell is Other People” in particular is a standout. The way the vocals weave along with the rising tension of the instrumental drag you in like a wormhole to Satan’s bedroom.
Flexing their abilities and clear talent for songwriting, VCTMS merge a softer R&B sound that is set up on “Intoxication”, and executed again on the title track is an interesting inclusion. The caged beat allows for drummer Meredith Henderson to shine as a vocalist as she coos over the eerie yet enchanting song. A direction I didn’t really expect to be waiting for me on this album but one that I welcome, something I would like to see more of in the future. It fits so well into the narrative of the album, that it blends straight into the punishing “Hostage”.
“Intoxication, I drink my emotions down”
One thing that I have never really gotten on with in metal, both old school and nu-school, is the melodrama of the lyrics and over-the-top-ness of the concepts they deal with. I suppose this is just part in parcel with the genre, and VCTMS are big offenders on this record just here and there with some lines that made me cringe my way back into a studded belt and a big fringe. Saying that however, this band clearly have a vision and the fact that they are doing this entirely themselves is commendable on its own. I don’t think we have seen the full vision yet, but it may very be on the horizon.
6/10