VEKTOR — Black Future (review)

VEKTOR — Black Future album cover Album · 2009 · Technical Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Conor Fynes
'Black Future' - Vektor (7/10)

As much as I have attempted to explore it, I cannot say that I have been able to decipher- much less appreciate- the trend of thrash metal. There have certainly been bands in the style that I have greatly enjoyed, but as a whole, I cannot understand thrash's fixation with speed and soloing over what I perceive to be musicality, not to mention the fact that so many of the bands seem content to mirror the existing sounds of the style. On that note, I see a world of potential when the aggression of thrash is melded with more progressive sensibilities. Voivod pulled it off beautifully, and now Vektor- a thrash band from Arizona- is taking thrash and going somewhere interesting with it. True enough, Vektor's debut 'Black Future' is not revolutionizing the sounds of the genre by any degree, but the band's greater depth in their composition makes them one of the best greatest bands in the thrash revival movement.

From their logo and album artwork alone, I get the feeling that Vektor is taking after more classic progressive thrash outfits, most notably Voivod and Toxik. The music generally follows suit with this, although there is certainly a drawn influence from the more straightforward acts like Slayer and Exodus. The music is fast and furious for the most part, relying on riffs that immerse themselves in technical finesse as well as a rawer aggression that I sense often in the style. Balancing this out though is a dynamic, not only from heaviness to softer moments, but also in tempo. Often, the band will go from a blistering foray of furious soloing and likeminded rhythms, and then break down into something more atmospheric and doomy. The fast parts are admittedly fairly generic from an instrumental standpoint, but the fact that these compositions are given more than one-gear speed is enough to make Vektor stand apart from most in my books.

Maybe the best thing about Vektor are the vocals, performed here by David Disanto. Leading Vektor with higher pitched rasps, the sheer range that he is able to take his voice into is astounding. With one moment on the title track coming to mind, Disanto is able to create these vast inhales that sound almost inhuman. I do get the impression that the album goes on a tad too long, and despite the progressive tendencies of the band, some of the songs here do feel as if they thrash along a little past what would have been optimal. All the same, Vektor's 'Black Future' is a very good debut, taking the best parts of thrash metal and making an album that is both intelligent and a hell of a lot of fun.
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