Vultures Vengeance: Dust Age

Vultures Vengeance is a New Wave of Traditional Heavy metal band from Rome, Italy. Dust Age is their second full-length album, and the follow-up to 2019's The Knightlore. The band has drawn comparisons to classic/cult acts like Cirith Ungol, Manilla Road and Brocas Helm. I also hear a lot of Blind Guardian in their sound due to the vocals sounding a lot like those of Hansi Kursch. The new album is set for release this February via High Roller Records.

From an audio production perspective this album has a very retro aesthetic. In a lot of ways listening to Dust Age sounds like discovering an old demo tape or independent LP from the 80s. The tones are retro and I'm imagining that the band recorded without a click track for the most part. Certainly there is a looseness to the record which gives the album an organic soul. At first I wasn't sure what to think of this but after repeat listens I find the rough around the edges presentation to be endearing, especially in amongst a landscape of full-blown drum programming and guitar tracks that are pieced together to provide a perfect take. There's no question the band played all of the parts on this album, warts and all.

Another notable aspect of the album to my ears is the epic scale of the arrangements. All of the songs have layers of guitars, multiple riffs & interlude sections, and just generally have a lot going on. It's not surprising to me that the gap between albums has been large because songwriting on this grand/epic scale isn't a quick or easy process.

The album is 8 tracks long which is close to the perfect length for my taste.I enjoy every track, and after originally wondering what the songs would sound like with more polished production value I've come to enjoy the album the way it is. It's old-school cult-style traditional heavy metal for old-school traditional heavy metal fans. If you're a fan of the underground you may well find this album to be a bit of a hidden gem. I certainly did.

TRACKLISTING:
01 Dust Age
02 Queen of the Last Light
03 Those Who Sold The World
04 Reign of Severance
05 City of a Thousand Blades
06 The Exiled
07 The Foul Mighty Temple of Men
08 It Holds

Added: January 14th 2025
Reviewer: Chris Reid
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 30
Language: english

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