Review by Felix on January 5, 2020.

Here we have Melechesh's album from 2015. I have read that the name of the band means "King of Fire", but I am sure this is a common misconception. There can be no doubt that Melechesh is the Hebrew word for "the most intense intensity". Whenever the dudes get wild, they celebrate a brilliant orgy of sharpness, relentlessness and, yes, musicality. Already the fierce opener will blow unsuspecting listeners away. The mix of the typical metal elements with the oriental ingredients still works in an exciting way, and the level of intensity, as indicated above, is mostly second to none. Nevertheless, we also know that the experienced musicians have more to offer than just sheer franticness.

For example, they master the creation of a dense, melodic yet extremely heavy number as well. "Multiple Truths", a stomping mid-tempo piece with the characteristic sharpness of the guitars, provides evidence. The vocals spread a bitter aroma and contribute an insane feeling, a solo guitar is responsible for a fine melody at the end - and everything works perfectly. The same conclusion applies for "The Pendulum Speaks" with its swirling riff, the demonic vocals and the fundamental aggression. Melechesh's art opens the gates to infernal, fiery regions. They pull the audience into their songs with great easiness, while the music itself does not even show the smallest sign of ingratiation. The band is able to design very eventful songs that are immune against symptoms of fatigue. So many things happen - without hurting the flow of the respective track - that everybody is well advised to focus closely on the listening experience.

Nuclear Blast productions are mostly blessed with an adequate budget. As a consequence, they sound either completely soulless or pretty perfect. Fortunately, Enki falls under the second category. The cutting guitars deliver the main feature, but the entire album boasts with a very direct and expressive appearance. Furthermore, it has this dangerous charm that daunts non-metal fans. Although the admixture of the oriental harmonies indicates hot temperatures, the devilish vocals add a very cold touch. Finally, the rhythm section does not come off badly as well. Especially the machine gun called double bass increases the level of brutality successfully and accompanies the violent guitars very well. No doubt, there is nothing wrong with Enki, neither in terms of musicianship nor in terms of the technical implementation.

Critics might say that the album is not innovative, and the band forgot to take the next step. Frankly speaking, this kind of yammering is something I don't understand. As far as I can see, Melechesh have created their own niche of metal and thus, they have been more innovative than 99% of their metallic competitors. Furthermore, I am able to enjoy twenty old school thrash albums each year which have more or less the same musical approach. With that said, I have absolutely no problem to listen to a new Melechesh album that picks up the style of its precursor after a break of five years. I rather tend to criticize the tradition of their overlong folkloric numbers. "Doorways to Irkala" with its devoted percussion is acceptable, but not really necessary. Yet this type of songs must be understood as a part of the concept and at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. More than 50 minutes of great music remain. The only slightly questionable detail is that the single tracks need some time to develop their own individuality, but this also does not constitute a grave problem. Summing up, Enki prolongs the series of (very) good Melechesh albums, no more, no less.

Rating: 8.3 out of 10

Review by Maciek on March 28, 2015.

It's been always my dream to find a good band that would mix extreme metal with Middle Eastern melodies as I always thought that it would be a perfect combination. Throughout many years I found only few examples when it worked well (in my opinion, of course, not everyone has to agree). I guess the first impressive example was Clawfinger with their "Two Sides" with guest vocals by Antoinette Saigh. I know it's not really a true metal band, but I cannot recall better mix of something close to the genre with Middle Eastern atmosphere around 1997. Next good attempt worth mentioning in my opinion is Cradle of Filth with their "Doberman Pharaoh", I still get goose bumps when listening to first sounds from it. And obviously Rotting Christ had a decent attempt in their "Enuma Elish".

But I was always waiting for some band which would focus on this magical mixture and release the whole album with that in mind and that's why I was following Melechesh for some time to hear their style develop and I have to say this band is getting better and better at it with every next album.

And I think that "Enki" is really close to that ideal Middle-Eastern-black-metal I'm craving for. It's their sixth album, so their technical level is now really impressive and it shows with more diversity in melody lines used. If you haven't heard the band before, I would compare it to Dimmu Borgir, but with the aforementioned Middle Eastern melody lines and I mean more harsh, old-school Dimmu, with less keyboards. Really impressive drumwork, with powerful blast-beats, especially the opening track "Tempest Temper Enlil Enraged", which reminds a lot of opening track from "Emissaries", "Rebirth of the Nemesis". The album has generally quite raw atmosphere, with tracks packed with many riffs, all kept in the same climate, much of the time filled with 3 or more guitar lines. It definitely is not an easy album to get used to, solid 3-4 listenings before you get the flow of the rhythms, passages and leading melody lines. What I really like is that the sound is not too polished, therefore it maintains dirty, chaotic style. The atmosphere is also enhanced by pitch effect used mostly on guitars playing leading melody lines.

Overall really well-done album with very good inclusion of Middle Eastern style in black metal. Very complex compositions, with a lot of experimentation with guitar effects, rhythms and constructions. Really good position on the shelf with black metal with monumental "Enki - Divine Nature Awoken" among my favourite tracks.

Overall score: 7 out of 10

Review by Nathan on January 8, 2023.

Vastum’s genre is hard to pin down succinctly: it’s death metal, sure, but it’s also slow death metal that’s not quite slow enough to be considered death/doom. Vastum doesn’t ever go really fast, but they also rarely drop things to a funeral doom-esque crawl, instead focusing on the oft-neglected, trudging builds and transitions that usually serve as the break between intense and overwhelming riffs, but rarely make up the meat. Vastum has made a career out of carving a niche in their “slow death metal that isn’t death/doom levels of slow but still pretty slow” hole, and Orificial Purge doesn’t expand on that template at all, instead content to refine the contents of what’s there. It’s sometimes surprising that the band can hold your interest for so long with such consistently middling writing, but Vastum is good at getting a lot with a little and using the space between riffs to their advantage.

To put it another way, Vastum is the auditory equivalent of sexual frustration. Patricidal Lust explored the concept and atmosphere with much more focus, but Orificial Purge remains within the same formula. Each riff is an agonizing crawl that doesn’t please you fully, but has enough of a lick in it that it makes you hope the next riff will finally satisfy you in the way you’re craving, but that riff only ends up doing the exact same thing to you. I can’t think of a better way to musically symbolize a 30-year-old incel dude that just sits in his basement cranking the fuck out of his meat most evenings. There’s a bit of careless self-indulgence and reckless abandon in the riffs, but it’s stifled by the slow drudgery of everything going on. You can jerk off as many times as you want to the weirdest porn your loins desire, it’s still going to leave you with residual feelings of guilt and shame. The mixture of hints of pleasure in the melodic licks and slithering grooves with the predominant base of blueballing and frustration that Orifical Purge provides makes it much more engaging than the sum of its parts might have you think upon first listen. Vastum isn’t a very flashy band and they don’t really hook you in the first time you hear them, but once their album is done you can’t help but acknowledge that the songwriting makes even the mediocre riffs stand out a bit. It’s a bit of a grower, greater than the sum of its parts.

This band has some pretty big namedrop value in an incestuous California scene. Connections to Acephalix, Necrot and Hammers of Misfortune exist between multiple members – I’m not sure if this is Leila Abdul-Rauf’s main band, or a side-project/supergroup thingy. As a result you can guarantee that there’s more songwriting prowess than usual for an otherwise relatively unproven band. Perhaps that’s why Vastum can stand out and has some replay value being adjacent to a frequently snooze-inducing death/doom genre. They’ve still got a bit longer to go before they can be considered forerunners of their genre, but Orifical Purge does make noticeable strides in subtly creating a more immersive sound and I also note a bit more detail in the riffing. This didn’t quite have AOTY-level impacts on me, but it’s very well done for what it is and I’d be the first one to rec Vastum to someone who wants something that sounds close enough to death/doom without having long boring parts. Orificial Purge is a bit hard to get into, but it’s worth the struggle.

Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Review by chrisc7249 on July 18, 2022.

These Californians have been around since the very beginning of the 2010s, unbeknownst to my feeble mind, at least up until the release of their latest installment, 2019's Orificial Purge. I was intrigued by the trippy album art when I first encountered this record, as well as being released on the great 20 Buck Spin label, so I gave it a spin and wasn't let down but also wasn't blown away too much.

Vastum is pretty straightforward, and the riffs are fairly simple and have been done before. There's only a handful of riffs on this album that I would say are truly unique enough to be their own, while the vast majority of them are just rehashes of things we've all heard before. Still… they felt new and likeable when released in this package, complete with a nasty production, great vocals and a good, but not great sense of songwriting.

The opening two tracks are perhaps my favorite of the bunch, showcasing the best vocal work as well as the most headbang worthy riffs. I was particularly impressed by how understandable the lyrics are, especially coming from death metal where all the lyrics just sound like gibberish. This made the listening experience a little more unique and fun to get into. Overall, though, the riffs feel pulled from your typical culprits; Incantation… Bolt Thrower… Autopsy… maybe a little Cannibal Corpse. Nothing you haven't heard a thousand times before, yet, Vastum doesn't come across as repetitive.

Orificial Purge is a respectable slab of death metal that doesn't do anything excellent, perhaps except the vocals, but they don't do anything wrong either. It's heavy, it's gritty, it's got a decent amount of energy and… it's old school death metal. And if you're hooked on this shit like I am, Vastum definitely is a good fix to get doped out on every now and then. I'll go back and give their earlier albums a listen in the future for sure.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Alex on October 8, 2019.

How so sudden urges arise picking at the weakness of the biological; 6 more tracks laced in the sap of patricide, incest, lust and shame among many more transgressions here to satiate the itch. By the tongue that condemns, while the hands play in sinful discharge, Vastum reopens the damaged Hole Below for yet another intoxicating session of putrefaction and pleasure. Scrape clean the rust from the gates of maliciousness, crack open its welcoming stretch and penetrate its simulating, yet all the while venomous vulva, take a deep breath in honor of dignity before plunging deep into the pleasures of pacifism and puke uncontrollably before the wails of Orificial Purge. Vastum's bed is one of adultery, forbidden fantasies, suppression and ruthlessness, yet bodies climb into their luring sheets despite the multiple warnings; many a sin committed since being under their custodial carelessness directed by Carnal Law and yet amidst the flashing photographs of bondage and butchery, a sinister smile forms within the cheeks. Though misused till the anatomy has misshapen to that of a rag-doll, the comfort of sleeping amidst the nauseating stench of dried menstrual fluid and ejaculate has become an obscene obsession.

From the womb of death metal pelts Vastum with their 4th malpractice to make more sordid the deformed walls this medium. The agony of want has troubled their offspring since fondling the Hole Below; though their flirt with the spacy spooks of Spectral Voice in May of 2019 awoke hopes of more foul pleasures, it was not nearly enough to satisfy the depraved longing felt throughout the growling bowels of the genre. Here now amidst the glimmering light of masterpieces bestowed upon us like a series of tongue lashings from a feared, crooked, god-mother, Orificial Purge has arrived from the moral-less abode of Vastum. Keeping in tune with what appears to be the band's favorite number, (6) lewd exercises have been unorganized for those seeking a means to deconstruct their mental soundness and revisit their sickness. The swamp is active yet again, massage the tingle, cum play in the slit.

'Dispossessed in the Rapture (First Wound)' is but the initial puncture made, an opening to access the pasture of delectation; some reflections of Gorephilia's 'Interplanar' and 'Hellfire' materialize yet no-less intersticed from what constitutes a Vastum record. The seductress Leila, still very active as the hive queen with her signature sexual-guitaring touch and seducing growls, while her primary larvae companion Daniel, stretches the cunt's elastic to bursting widths through his dungeneous bellows. Bacterial contamination meets new levels, such does the debauchery during 'Abscess Inside Us' as riffs swirl ecstatically within the septic, molested and maimed muff, hence the call for an 'Orificial Purge' is made necessary to absolve the germinal quagmire. Sit and watch the minge absentmindedly cannibalize itself, till a gory gush of genital juices pour from its vacuum.

The Quim rests in convalescence from cruel copulation, washed of microbe, though sore and depleted of energy, is not free and is still subject to brutality: however, until recovery is complete, measures are enforced to seek out another chasm of charms regardless of origin or construct. Vastum is a creature of an ever-modifying DNA structure forming to fit fetishes; while the familiarity of Shelby’s riffing and Luca’s pulse are perpetrated, one can’t help but notice the face of the organism slowly morphing amidst Chad’s drumming antics. Consistent double bass now appears to be more embraced by the band though not used very much; those moments primarily come to light on ‘Dispossessed in Rapture (First Wound)’ and self-titled track ‘Orificial Purge’, offering contrast and tinkering to the meaty bosom of Vastum’s sound, but does not come at the cost of intimacy. The collective effort put forth ensures no ends are loose, thus binding this poking asset compatibly for the final presentation.

Still no sentiments are expressed for the ailing, what’s done has been done, heads look toward the horizon for what new promises and delights may arrive all the while prepping in hopes ‘His Sapphic Longing’ is fulfilled. ‘Orificial Purge’, upon inspection comes across as a celebration of Vastum’s journey thus-far, modules of all that is their makeup swim to surface and is then greeted by elements now a bit more espoused though not copious to ensure a total change in methodology. To be released October 25th, 2019 on CD, vinyl cassette and digitally through 20 Buck Spin; let “Limerent objects intrude a stunted psyche”.

Rating: 9 out of 10