The reactions to VLTIMAS debut single have been glowing to say the least.
Legendary, and now former Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent has had his fair share of swings and misses, and perhaps just career confusion in the last decade. From the industrial-metal-mockery that became of the band’s failed 2011 album Illud Divinum Insanus, to his unceremonious and messy booting from the group in 2015, to his somewhat cringey creation of a Morbid Angel “cover” band called I Am Morbid, and in the background to all of this, Vincent also assumed the lead vocal role (so far for live appearances only) in The Head Cat – an American rockabilly supergroup previously fronted by the late Lemmy of Motorhead. While all of this was going on, Morbid Angel released a somewhat celebrated, somewhat bemoaned album called Kingdoms Disdained with their other rotating vocalist, Steve Tucker.
Sometimes it’s best to just start afresh while still sticking to what you know best. Enter Vincent’s latest outfit, VLTIMAS. Originally started by Cryptopsy drummer Flo Mounier and ex-Mayhem, Aura Noire guitarist Blasphemer, Vincent soon assumed his classic position of vocals and bass, and the blackened death metal band began recording their debut album Something Wicked Marches In in May of 2018. A collection of concise and aggressive tracks, VLTIMAS is a band that has taken three lifetimes full of boundary-crushing metal to embrace a true, no-frills approach, that somehow still manages to feel like it’s full of fresh air – a triumph considering the band’s sound has been boiled down to the very essence of all things death and black.
With a small handful of singles now available online ahead of its release on Friday March 29, here’s some YouTube comments from the debut single ‘Praevalidus’ to let you know how the metal community is responding; “HOLY SHIT… Welcome back, Mr. Vincent. You were brutally missed \m/”, “Damn this is awesome. Better than the newest Morbid Angel”, and “A welcome return from the man who growled me through puberty ever since Altars of Madness. Love the black meets death mashup. Welcome back Mr.Vincent.” Given the online metal community’s usual complete lack of remorse when it comes to telling it like it is in the comments section, the fact that there is almost zero negativity to be found is pretty telling of the fact that a) David Vincent is finally doing something that will make the fans that made him happy, and that Something Wicked Marches In is probably going to be one of the best death metal albums of 2019. Will Morbid Angel ever return to the strength of their glory years? Probably not, but it’s probably not needed.
