Vamachara
Lapse (2016)
Maximillian Power
Hailing from Southern
California, Vamachara play a heavy combination of 90’s metallic hardcore with a
slightly more traditional metal vibe. While what they bring to the table might
not be new and adventurous, it is pleasantly genuine, and above all, heavy as
f*ck.
Modern metalcore has
seen many people become jaded and tired of over animated, and ultimately boring
chug-ridden breakdowns and high pitched guitar squeals, but Vamachara does it
right. The songs on Lapse are
extremely heavy and enjoyable; they have done a really good job of combining a
crunchy death metal style guitar sound with hardcore style shouted vocals.
Lapse brings
to mind influences like Disembodied, and later Martyr AD, but also bands like
Sepultura and fellow So-Cal heavyweights Xibalba. The music is focused around
crushing slow breakdowns and heavy droning guitars, with a few fast parts added
to add an element of diversity to the songs. One of my favorite parts about Lapse is that while paying obvious
homage to death metal bands like Obituary and Black Breath, they keep things
simple and don’t rely on blast beats or deathcore style pig squeals to get the
point across.
Although Lapse has only 4 tracks, Vamachara are
contenders for one of the heaviest, mosh-laden releases of 2016. While some may
find some of these songs simplistic, I appreciate the pure rage and anger that
is expressed in the songs. “Victim of Life†is a stand out song on this release
and I can only imagine a crowd absolutely destroying one and other while this
is being played. During a time when many newer metalcore bands rely on the same
crunchy, chugged breakdowns, Vamachara’s traditional influences and hardcore
vibe really shine through and separates them from the pack of other
forgettable mosh oriented bands.