It’s been long contested for years both by me and throngs of other people as to who will carry on the flame of the original sound of heavy metal that’s been around for decades when the legendary bands finally call it for one reason or another. I’ve been lucky enough to see acts like Visigoth and Vhaldemar rise above to show us the style is in very good hands, and it’s with Vulture that we get another glorious display of heavy metal that’s simply filled with the promise of a bright future.

Just the classic feel of the cover art should be enough to get you interested in the brand of heavy metal that Vulture has brought to the table here. There’s nothing about the magnificent set that is “Ghastly Waves & Battered Graves” that’s not cheesy in perfectly balanced helpings or execution in such a way that falls anywhere short of exemplary. Before hearing this, you could have told me that this was a remaster of an underground classic from forty years ago if not more and I totally would’ve gone with that as literally everything about this record captures the original sound and feel that many other bands have tried their best to achieve, but only a select few can attain it with a potent sound. “Ghastly Waves & Battered Graves” clears that bar with just the first few tracks alone, and then it’s through fantastic songwriting, riffs for days, and quality that feels second to none at times. Vulture started off with a very tasteful record not too long ago, and it feels like a mere month has passed since then for them to turn right around and prove up and down they’re masters of their craft already to a degree that’s simply admirable. Taking in the amounts of just having fun playing the style to keeping true to the classic tropes, Vulture could have done nothing but succeed with this album.

To keep a style interesting after so long requires a fandom that’s no less than die hard and very evident of quality, and I couldn’t be any happier to see heavy metal thriving beautifully after so long thanks to acts like Vulture who do nothing but give it immense justice album after album to always keep us coming back and yearning for more. In no small way, “Ghastly Waves & Battered Graves” is the apex of heavy metal that this year has flung our way so far, and I’ve no doubt that this is still just the beginning for Vulture.

“Ghastly Waves & Battered Graves” releases on June 7th via Metal Blade!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Ghastly Waves & Battered Graves” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Vulture on Facebook here.