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.