Vantaskera — Gilded Review
Vantaskera, a UK-based Progressive Metal band whose sound fuses experimental structure, cinematic atmosphere, and ritualistic intensity. On October 9th, the band will unleash their debut full-length offering, “Gilded,” a sonic rite of passage that channels elemental tension, ceremonial pacing, and transformative power.
The First Three Sins, The Summary
The Fourth Sin, Overall Discussion
Opening the Gate: Breaking the Ritual Flow & World building Through Doom and Divinity
Before we dive into this review, let’s break from the usual path. Our reviews typically follow a set flow, but here we skip that. Vantaskera‘s Gilded pulls listeners into progressive metal that mixes heavy, crushing sounds with eerie, and experimental, cinematic atmosphere, and ritualistic intensity, as well as soft layers that linger like mist.
Gilded forms a full story at heart. Think of it as a raw tale of doom. It unfolds in a made-up world where an evil god twists and controls all life. The music uses thick, heavy guitars that hit hard. Drums pound with wild energy. Clean vocal parts bring a sad, quiet side. Together, they paint chaos, fights against it, and deep changes. This setup grabs you from the start. Progressive metal typically builds worlds like this, drawing from bands that blend metal’s power with complex tales. Fans know how albums like these can feel like journeys, not just hymns.
Ichor: The Blood of Broken Gods
As soon as you press play, the opening hymn, Ichor, hits like gold blood from broken gods. Guitars drop low in tune, slamming with force. They weave patterns like those in Meshuggah‘s style—polyrhythmic, chaotic rhythms that twist and pull in odd ways. Drums rage below, sharp and fast. Vocals burst out raw, as if ripping holy skin apart. Soft sounds swirl around, like holy liquid gone bad. For those new to this, polyrhythms mean beats that don’t line up simple, creating tension.
Meshuggah set the bar for that in metal, and Vantaskera nails it here. Tearing through sacred flesh, while ambient textures swirl like sacred fluid in decay.
The mix is cinematic and saturated, layering chaos with shimmering dread. It’s a baptism in molten divinity—setting the apocalyptic tone for all that follows.
Crucible: The Sonic Forge
Next comes Crucible, the second hymn. It’s like a fire test, a sound cleanse. Screams chant out, clashing with soft vocal repeats. This split shows pain and rise together. Guitars chug heavy, then bend into harsh notes. Tribal drum beats and fast double kicks push it on like a rite. Synth bits glow under it all, adding fire and pull to each part. Picture a forge in action—heat melts who you are, remakes your thoughts, and hardens you for more.
The hymn feels like a forge—melting identity, reshaping belief, and tempering the listener for what’s to come.
Ordain: The Corrupted Cathedral & Migration: The Dust-Laden Escape
Ordain, the third hymn, runs about three minutes. It acts as a fake blessing, full of god tricks shown in wide stereo sound. Vocals switch from calm talk to wild yells, soaked in echo and steady beat. Soft guitar lines grow short, then explode into fast, shaky chaos. Drums step like a march, broken by god-like anger. Ambient pads and synth choirs evoke a corrupted cathedral, making this track feel like a hymn twisted by power. It’s sacred, but not safe.
Vantaskera’s fourth hymn, Migration, marks the escape. It’s a trek through dust and wreck. Vocals float like spirits, far off and sad, loose from the ground. Thin guitar lines repeat with delay, like calls in the void. Light drum hits throb like a weak pulse. The layers turn to soft sounds most, with real-world noises and synth haze wrapping it tight. This spot highlights loss and old thoughts, a calm break in the album’s storm.
It’s a passage through memory and loss, a moment of quiet devastation in the album’s arc.
The Lure: Temptation in Glitch and Gold
The fifth piece is where temptation takes form in The Lure, a hymn that seduces and fractures in equal measure. Soft vocals shine with false comfort, soon cracking into sharp screams. The mix feels tight and close, mixed with glitch bits and backward synths like traps in sound. Guitars wind through odd leads and high squeaks. Drums trip on uneven beats. It’s a fall hidden as a welcome—a gold-lined snare. Glitch textures, for the uninitiated, are digital stutters that add unease, common in modern metal to mimic broken minds.
This hymn tempts, fitting the god’s scheme, and ramps tension before the close.
Scaled: Transformation Through Decay
The sixth hymn is where transformation unfolds in Scaled, where truth slithers out of old skin. Growls stack thick with soft whispers, forming a voice that twists through clear, planned sound. Bass lines curl with snake-like moves. Guitars are heavy and progressive. Blast beats—superfast drums—break in uneven bursts. Soft hums and metal glints suggest scales in dark light. It hits the album’s heart: Gilded means gold shine over decay, beauty turned to harm.
Vocals rasp with feeling, scratching through warm, low-fi tones and full middle sounds.
Minor key guitar lines shake with need. Drums step in steady rite beats. Soft glows and backward bits peel back the fake, showing what god beauty costs. Here, the story peaks, transforming pain into something new yet scarred. Tracks like this tie the whole arc, leaving you changed, much like the best concept albums do.
Devilmanship and Sonic Legacy
Vantaskera‘s Gilded bursts with bold, out-of-the-box sounds that scream experimental—fruit of art, with a solid devilmanship that executes the music with flawless composition and arrangement. Each hymn stands unique, but they fuse into one gripping musical ride. Pulling from Vildhjarta‘s fury, Meshuggah‘s grind, Lorn’s moody vibes, and Iron Cthulhu Apocalypse‘s chaos, this self-made album slams with heavy downtuned riffs, savage drums, and haunting clean melodies.
A devilmanship that comprise; Justin Leah shreds on guitar, while James Evans handles vocals, bass, production, and engineering. Matt Thompstone, from Dwelled, delivers explosive beats that amp up the intensity.
The result? A deep, film-like plunge into raw emotion and power.
West: The Final Gasp
As the album reaches its final moments, and closing the saga. West seals the tale with a sunset over shattered remains. Clean vocals drift away in sorrow, wrapped in vast ambient sounds. Faint guitar lines whisper like old echoes. Drums throb softly, mimicking a world’s final gasp. Synth hums and chime-like bells stretch across the audio sky, signalling transformation’s close. Thus we want to give a shoutout to Vantaskera for letting us review their album, Gilded. Now, we are going to conclude the review by talking about the final three sins and concluding the review.
The Fifth Sin, The Memorabilia
The Sixth Sin, The Artwork
The Seventh Sin, Disrelish
Vantaskera
Justin Leah — Guitar
James Evans — Vocals, Bass, Production, Engineering
Matt Thompstone — Drums
Hear The Music
Reviewed by Kristian — editorial architect and ceremonial crafted. © Athenaeum of Sin Reviews.