Vanity Draws Blood – ‘Perspective / Dread’ [Review]
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As this EP’s cover art makes clear, Vanity Draws Blood aim to shock and stun the metal world – no easy feat considering all that’s come before.
The link between horror movies and metal has long been established, but Vanity Draws Blood connect the dots exceptionally well on Perspective / Dread. Blending Slipknot-grade catharsis with modern tech-metal grooves, these guys go literally for the gut – and hit the mark with unnerving accuracy. Two-minute intro track Dread sets the scene; listen with the lights off if you dare.
Haunted brings us into more familiar tech-hardcore territory, churning violently – but then the Periphery-esque atmospherics enter, and it becomes clear that Vanity Draws Blood are capable of nodding in the direction of their influences without playing the plagiaristic copycat game. It’s likely that some will put Perspective / Dread in the much-maligned “djent” category, but djent has rarely sounded this dark. Vanity Draws Blood prove utterly uncompromising, deserving respect for the above achievements.
Each title on Perspective / Dread implies the progression of an underlying storyline, the mark of a band who know that depth is an absolute necessity in making something meaningful and gripping. Possession’s chilling introductory soundscapes would fit well in a Slender Man-style game, heightening the tension before more dense, crushing chaos ensues. Expect plenty of rhythmic twists, but don’t expect to know exactly what happens next; there are just so many immense details in there, contributing to a completely unpredictable whole. Awesome.
Calling lead single Anxiety a “lead single” makes it sound like poppy pap – but it’s anything but. The intensity gets turned up another notch here as CJ McMahon, formerly of Thy Art Is Murder, adds his twisted vocals to a track so hectic it could have soundtracked that recent Game Of Thrones battle scene (the one I don’t want to spoil in case you haven’t seen it yet). Anxiety is Perspective / Dread’s undeniable highlight, but that does nothing to take away from the other tracks; it fits perfectly in the fourth-track spot on this EP, set up flawlessly by the previous three.
Closer Exorcism doesn’t back down from Anxiety, either. Deep-cutting melodies slice through a track that actually sees Vanity Draws Blood push themselves even further than on the song you can hear via the video player below, falling somewhere between Periphery’s Extraneous and a full-steam-ahead death metal rampage. The sense of pacing on Perspective / Dread is fucking phenomenal; this is an EP that’ll satisfy those who crave nothing more than “moar brutulz” and those who desire something, again, deeper than the competition.
Overall, on the strength of Perspective / Dread, Vanity Draws Blood are not going to remain in the underground for long. I’d say you should expect big things from these guys, but this EP is already a Big Thing. The world just hasn’t caught on yet.
Come July 15, that’s going to change.
TMMP RATING: 92%
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