Whilst described by means of vocalist Jake Bannon as the nearest he has gotten to enjoying in a dying steel band, Umbra Vitae has too many distinctive chefs within the kitchen to be described in the ones phrases on my own. We are speaking a couple of staff the place Mike McKenzie (The Crimson Chord), and Sean Martin (Hatebreed, Twitching Tongues) write riffs for Jon Rice (who by hook or by crook has Uncle Acid and Task For A Cowboy in his resume).
After accounting for Bannon‘s lengthy historical past because the screamer in Converge, and yet one more Crimson Chord member in bassist Greg Weeks, Umbra Vitae enjoying orthodox dying steel was once by no means an actual choice. Such was once a ways from the case with 2020’s Shadow of Lifestyles, and now with Mild of Dying, the band has transcended the supergroup stereotype as they synergize their types for a considerate workout in auditory violence.
With 15 tracks clocking in at 45 mins, Umbra Vitae has chomped on the bit to construct out their sound — like “Go away of Absence” opening with what appears like hurdy gurdy drones and dissonant violin stings. However as soon as the blast beats and caterwaulings take complete impact, the band’s explicit cross-section of dying steel and hardcore materializes. Umbra Vitae‘s dying steel is calculated and unrelenting, whilst its hardcore is bestial and chaotic.
Kurt Ballou‘s signature manufacturing permits each sun shades of extremity to flourish, with that highest mix of brutal readability and uncooked depth. “Trust is Out of date” additional establishes this means with how primitive the mosh portions grow to be, by contrast to the technicality of the tremolo riffing. Bannon‘s vocals tread a identical line, as he explores the spooky showmanship of maximum steel, with out dropping sight of his Converge taste. Many screamers would lean on gutturals for that double-kick-infested mosh phase, however his irate howls give it a extra manic urgency.
The Entombed affect is difficult to not understand on a minimize like “Anti-Spirit Device,” like Nails with much less grind and extra deathrash (particularly with the guitar solo and half-time breakdown). The brooding melodicism of “Velvet Black” brings a taste that is not best new to Umbra Vitae, however in point of fact all musicians concerned. Bannon bringing gothic baritone making a song into the combination is indisputably a welcome wonder, however the way in which the slow-burning despair launches right into a mid-tempo beatdown works manner higher than it will have to. It presentations that those guys can ease off the throttle and expose a extra nuanced aspect in their songwriting.
“Motive and Impact” is the boldest instance of this lighter contact from Umbra Vitae, with rustic acoustic guitar lines immersing the vibe in despair serenity—till a literal bounce scare falsetto shriek (or comments stab? No matter it’s, it is unsettling as hell), cuts in the course of the combine to usher in that ever-loving mid-tempo dying steel stomp. From head-splitting chugs to protracted chord progressions, the band has grown of their recognize for the ambience and barbarism.
In different instances, like “Nature Vs Nurture,” the evocative underpinnings waste little time in losing right into a steel hardcore slug-fest. It is not too dissimilar from the myriad of hardcore bands Ballou has produced—till that decimating trem-and-blast assault and… wait, was once {that a} disco beat? In different phrases, one does no longer merely tumble from Anaal Nathrakh to At The Gates. There may be extra occurring right here than brazen persistent.
However nonetheless, it is not like Umbra Vitae is attempting too laborious to push previous the naked prerequisites of maximum track. Blitz-speed assaults like “Transparent Cutter” and “Fact in Retrograde,” have so much in commonplace with the more moderen Filled with Hell songs of their talent to hit laborious and speedy, however no longer dumb. The previous gives various agile riffing and a continuing build up of momentum, whilst the latter brings a power-violence-ish dependancy to pace adjustments. In both case, reinventing the wheel is not the purpose. In those moments, the band specializes in distilling the essence in their selected genres (with nice effects).
The album’s go with the flow by no means loses momentum all over 15 tracks. A monitor like “Previous Anxious” offers simply the fitting dose of angular arpeggios and chilling chord adjustments to stay listeners short of extra, whilst the evocative guitar leads towards the tip. “Set of rules Of Worry” presentations restraint inside of Umbra Vitae‘s sonic fray. It bears repeating that this track does no longer undergo the indulgent goofery ceaselessly related to “supergroups.” Not anything overstays its welcome, whether or not it’s unbridled aggression or sparse islands of introspection.
Possibly extra importantly, there are numerous moments when Umbra Vitae simply appears like dudes having a laugh, just like the exhilarating drum fills and thrashy galloping of “Twenty-Twenty Imaginative and prescient.” Extremity does not need to be indignant or darkish, however a band like this will have to do each — such because the minor-key arpeggios present in “Empty Vessel.” It might be likened to black steel, if it did not additionally reveal in four-on-the-flour beatdowns. Once more, discover a band that may do each! A bunch that may cross grindcore with “Deep Finish,” however be able to carry issues again to heavy-ass riff-mongering and dancing leads on “Deadly Flaw.”
The place many bands on this sphere would attempt to get moodier on the final, “Mild of Dying” closes out Mild of Dying with probably the most maximum intense moments at the file. From a devastating mosh riff to an array of grooves, blasts, and groovy blasts, Umbra Vitae aptly represents that technique to excessive steel that is not afraid to play by means of feeling and emotion as an alternative of the fashionable development of sterile gridlock. Umbra Vitae simply performs nice steel. In no matter style they select, they do it remarkably neatly.
