Tracklist
1. Volens Discordant (1:02)
2. EPIC (4:35)
3. Miserere (3:51) [WATCH]
4. Exercitus Irae (4:01)
5. Mephisto Manifesto (05:05)
6. Scorcher (03:21) [WATCH]
7. Invictus (5:30) [LISTEN]
8. Nature’s Fangs (3:52)
9. Spoils of Struggle (5:54)
Whole runtime: 37:16
Type: Darkish Excessive Metallic
FFO: Morbid Angel, Mayhem, Cryptopsy
Excessive steel powerhouse VLTIMAS (pronounced ‘uhl-tuh-mas’) assault metaldom as soon as extra with their highly-anticipated sophomore album, EPIC, by Season of Mist. That includes Norwegian guitarist Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen (ex-Mayhem, RUÏM), American vocalist David Vincent (ex-Morbid Angel), and Canadian drummer Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy), the multinational quintet, rounded out by Dutch bassist Ype TVS (ex-Dodecahedron) and Portuguese guitarist João Duarte (Corpus Christii), proceed to enterprise down their path. Moored by energy and integrity, VLTIMAS fortified their signature with depraved invention, as applauded by Decibel Journal, BangerTV, Louder, and plenty of others, on their debut, One thing Depraved Marches In (2019). Singles “Miserere,” “Scorcher,” and “Invictus” showcase a band of musicians on the prime of their recreation, united of their pursuit of oneness.
“We wrote each little bit of EPIC collectively at my ranch in Dime Field, Texas,” provides Vincent. “The writing classes had been as natural as they might be. There have been occasions when, on the finish of the night time, Rune would take his guitar and play one thing ridiculous. Flo would play one thing much more ridiculous on prime of it. I would say to the blokes, ‘I must seize this.’ So, the magic [of VLTIMAS] is being in the identical room collectively, discussing, taking part in, and recording music and the whole lot else we’re doing collectively. We’ve got unbelievable camaraderie.”
Whereas the members of VLTIMAS will not be atavists, their most popular inventive strategies are time-tested and battle-hardened. Know-how has its place, however the group thrive once they’re collectively, not separated by the world. Eriksen, famend as a riff innovator, is more practical when he is received a extremely succesful sideman like Vincent or Mounier, whose drumming in Cryptopsy and his celebrated educational Excessive Metallic Drumming 101 DVD has confirmed to be a no-limits participant, by his facet. Whether or not it is the moody, angular assault of “Miserere,” the depraved groove of “Mephisto Manifesto,” or the darkish fury of “Nature’s Fangs,” the chemistry and enterprise of VLTIMAS is plain.
“The primary objective [of VLTIMAS] is to be actual,” Eriksen reveals. “To channel the very second, to let true inspiration out. I do not imagine I ever set myself a objective on what an album ought to or must sound like earlier than I or we write it as a result of which means I’ve to compromise in the course of the course of. For EPIC, we centered on extra direct songs, trimming the fats, versus One thing Depraved Marches In, which had a progressive and ‘playful’ aptitude.”
VLTIMAS was a profane idea—a constellation of riffs in opposition to a modest body—when fashioned by Eriksen in 2015. After departing Mayhem in 2008 and placing his gothic doom outfit Ava Inferi to relaxation in 2013, the Norwegian’s fingers nonetheless itched with infernal fury. VLTIMAS was his vent, and when Mounier and Vincent joined, he lastly had the cadre of execs to make it a actuality. Collectively, they devised complementary schemes and themes rooted in rightness. In a world gone mad, VLTIMAS had a imaginative and prescient. On One thing Depraved Marches In, they commanded consideration with metaphors concerning the apocalypse, the traditional goddess Lilith, and reality. Lyrically, EPIC spears into the very nucleus of energy by Vincent’s brio of double entendre and intelligent wordsmithing. The songs are designed to be heard, learn, and interpreted—there aren’t any shortcuts.
“Every part we’re doing and messaging is about energy and honor,” says Vincent. “These are the basics that I incorporate into my life, which I imagine in. I need to share with others, hoping they’re going to incorporate energy and honor into their lives. I would not say I like spelling lyrics out. I take advantage of quite a lot of double meanings on function as a result of I need to encourage the listener to suppose. I am not a brief consideration span man, and I do not respect it. EPIC is holistic and meant to be skilled that manner.”
EPIC was recorded by producer Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Misplaced, Grave Miasma) with engineer Jonathan Mazzeo (First Fragment, Sickening) at Arda Recorders in Porto, Portugal. VLTIMAS tracked the album all through Might 2023. Arellano additionally dealt with the combo and grasp. Like the whole lot the band does, the principle objective was to be sincere. The maxim of no pattern substitute or re-amping—EPIC was captured on outboard gear—was adhered to and loved by the crew. The result’s a sonic expression that feels like nothing else. From the crushing title observe to the epic musicality of nearer “Spoils of Struggle,” EPIC is an absolute beast.
“Stress, lengthy walks, an excessive amount of alcohol, but very centered as soon as within the recording mode,” Eriksen says of the classes. “We booked a month, however in some way, that flew by immediately. We labored up till the very finish. I even added a number of solos at my native Soundscape Studio in Almada, Portugal. Artwork unfolds, and when you suppose you’re completed, there’s all the time one other thought popping up.”
VLTIMAS introduced Italian artist Daniele Valeriani (Mayhem, Unanimated) to visualise EPIC. The aesthetic, as illuminated by music and message, was iconic boldness. The three-eagle head crest with three totally different crowns, accompanied by transfigured symbols of the Ardour and the “inconceivable triangle,” tasks effortlessly. In EPIC, the group will dominate. There is no escape from “Miserere,” “Mephisto Manifesto,” “Scorcher,” and “Invictus.” Collectively, they thrust, by resolve and inventiveness, VLTIMAS into the uppermost echelons of maximum steel.
“[EPIC is] outdated meets up to date, a symbiosis of all the good issues we love about excessive steel,” provides Eriksen. “All mixed into one album.”
“I need to be as emotional and sincere [with VLTIMAS],” Vincent provides. “I need to inform tales; I need to have the themes that attraction to me; I need to have some messaging that somebody can take away, on this case, energy. EPIC is energy.”
Lineup
David Vincent – Vocals
Rune Blasphemer Eriksen – Guitars
Flo Mounier – Drums
Ype TVS – Bass
João Duarte – Guitars
Recording studio
ARDA Recorders
Producer
Jamie Gomez Arellano
Sound engineer
Jonathan Mazzeo
Mixing and mastering engineer
Jaime Gomez Arellano
Mixing and mastering studio
Arda Recorders, Orgone Studio
Cowl artwork
Daniele Valeriani
Extra art work and format
Adrien Bousson
Biography
Chris Dick
Pre-save: https://orcd.co/vltimasepic
Pre-order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/VLTIMASEPIC
Hyperlinks:
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/vltimas/1445457453
Bandcamp: https://vltimas.bandcamp.com/
Fb: https://www.fb.com/vltimas/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vltimas/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0kz64zyv2xtkdhboztpdwa
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/vltimas?lang=en
Obtainable Codecs:
Digital Obtain
CD Digipak
12″ Vinyl Gatefold – Black
12″ Colored Vinyl Gatefold – Cranium Gold
12″ Colored Vinyl Gatefold – Dracula
12″ Image Vinyl
