Black Vulture
“Darkness Fills the Earth”
2012
It must be hard these days for bands to break into the death metal scene and try to be unique enough to stand out among the crowd. If your band doesn’t have a certain kind of sound you are either ousted from the metal community or your band gets swallowed up by the scene you tried so hard to become a part of. Standing out while fitting in is a tough balancing act. Black Vulture is a three-piece death metal band with members hailing from The Netherlands and the U.S.A. I find that bands that members coming from different parts of the world tent to stand out a little more because different people bring different musical styles and backgrounds. Black Vulture is no different. The bands 2012 full-length release Darkness Fills The Earth is the first by the group, and while it may not turn the metal community on its head, there is certainly enough creativity, and dynamic playing to make this album stand out. The real standout is the guitar player, Sarrum. Sarrum’s riffs are catchy, tricky and epic. He has long songs to show off what he can do. The song A World Between the Afterlife contains some of his most dynamic playing. And then we have the song Blood Chains. It is a ten plus minute instrumental that works well, but does drag the album down a little. Why this was chosen to be an instrumental is beyond me. There are so many moments in the song when singer Richard Schierer could have jumped in and added a little more weight to the song. That having been said, it does work as an instrumental track. It is contently flowing and has an epic sweeping feel to it; I just don’t think it needed to be so long. The final song on the record is a song called We Live To Suffer. It more closely resembles a black metal sound, proving that this band have the creative variety to flawlessly change their musical style. Sarrum’s really shows some great guitar work. He has a very emotional sound. You can really feel his riffs. Overall I would say this album is solid. This is a great first effort from a band that has the potential for great things it the death metal genre.
Tracklist:
1. The Architect
2. Cleansed by Fire
3. Victory or Death
4. A World Between the After Life
5. Blood Chain
6. Clockwork Orange
7. We Live on to Suffer
https://www.facebook.com/Black-Vulture-242353292495303
Members:
Richard Schierer – Vocals
Sarrum – Guitars
Martin Ciappara – Drums
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
~Kris