Phonebook Eater 8/10

"Black Future" is a toxic, fast, and catchy beast that emits a cheerfully dystopian light.

Vektor are an American Thrash Metal band: “Black Future” is their third studio length LP. By most of the Thrash community highly praised, this band is unique thanks to their spacey themes and peculiar, Black Metal influenced vocals. “Black Future” is, so far, the album that most faithfully and best represents their attitude and philosophy, becoming one of the best Thrash Metal albums this reviewer has ever heard in recent years.

The thing that you first notice in this colossal album is the clean production, a characteristic that doesn’t usually suit neither Thrash nor Black Metal: but here, it does nothing but compliment the music. The guitars are edgy and loud, the vocals have been mentioned for the most part, except for the fact that they are very varied and different sounding every time; sometimes they’re more like ghostly screams, other times they are raspy and lower pitched. Then the rhythms are pretty standard for the genre, but they are constantly changing, giving a pretty strong technical feel to the compositions. With these characteristics, Vektor play around with some progressive-like structures and mix in some slower, usually guitar driven passages, as well as some futuristic-machinery sound effects.

In most of the lyrics, there is an evident science fiction/dystopian theme, usually of something that has or is dominating earth, physically or psychologically: whether it be nuclear explosions, asteroids, dark nebulas, or genetically modified creatures. Exceptions include “Forests Of Legend”, the narrating of a once fantastic forest, where Giants and massive creatures lived. Anyhow, there’s almost always a sort of changed-as-we-know-it end of our world.

Over an hour long, “Black Future” never manages to bore or to exasperate the listener: the songs are elaborate and complex but not hard to follow. The pillars of the album are definitely the songs that pass the ten minute border: “Forests Of Legend”, “Dark Nebula” and “Accelerating Universe”. Within these ten minutes Vektor bring chaos to earth, as if zombies just came out of a spaceship and are running around,destroying everything they see; they also manage to give some calmer, slower moments within them, making them even more interesting. The remaining six songs however are not less effective: “Asteroid” is fast, catchy, and technical, just like the more Black Metal influenced title track, or “Oblivion”.

An album like no other, “Black Future” is sure the LP that should stick in the minds of Thrash Metal fans for quite some time. This is a great alternative to bands like Metallica and Megadeth; Vektor are a band that perhaps should be learned more of, even by the people who don’t care about Thrash.

Conor Fynes 'Outer Isolation' - Vektor (8/10)

Vektor are one of those bands that have been inspiring excitement since they first began releasing music. With vicious musicianship, complex composition and a futuristic sci-fi theme, Vektor recall the glory days of Voivod. Although I rarely call myself a fan of thrash metal, I fully admit that I jumped on the fan bandwagon shortly after hearing their debut, 'Black Future'. 'Outer Isolation' is now the band's second full-length effort, and here they have emphasized some of the things I liked so much about the original, namely their technicality and progressive approach. Sure enough, Vektor have proven that they aren't simply a one-album wonder anymore.

Voivod, Watchtower, and Coroner are all bands that pop into mind when listening to Vektor. As part of this thrash revival movement that's been going on over the past couple of years, Vektor have chosen to represent the technical end of the genre. Although the music here can be just as fast as your typical Slayer song, there is alot more going on in terms of musicianship. With particular regards to the guitar work, there is an impressive attention to keeping things complex. Best of all, the band sacrifices none of their intensity as a result. What we have ultimately is a band manages to take the thrash aggression and marry it perfectly with progressive ambition.

A staple of Vektor's sound has always been the hear-it-to-believe-it voice of frontman David DiSanto. His vocals usually take one of two forms; either a black metal rasp, or an ear- piercing falsetto. The raspy vocals generally take up most of the time, but it's when DiSanto uses his range where it becomes easy to be impressed. The vocals this time around do not have the same shock value as they did on 'Black Future', and though DiSanto attempts to broaden the scope of his vocals with some half-hearted cleans, part of what made DiSanto's vocals so intense on the debut was that they were fresh. Here, the vocals are still spot-on and impressive, but it's largely the same tricks that were pulled with the debut.

'Outer Isolation's musical complexity and technical approach to thrash metal is a bold and consistently impressive achievement. Although it may not be as instantly exciting as 'Black Future', it's definitely a musical improvement over the predecessor, sharpening their musical skills and upping the techy direction to new extremes. If there are any complaints, it would be that each of the songs sound too much alike; although each is immaculately performed and brilliantly composed, the speed and intensity feels somewhat like deja vu by the time this album is over. Regardless, I think the most important thing here is that Vektor cannot be considered anymore to be a band who put out one great album, but rather an act dedicated to releasing consistently impressive music. Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest thrash albums of the new millennium.

optisailor2002 Bored of all the old-school thrash metal revivalist bands, hearing of Vektor's debut full length album Black Future last year, a charming take on old school thrash metal with a more modern vibe, was definitely welcoming, with that album taking the metal world by storm, and many claiming it to be a masterpiece that the metal world has been waiting for. This year sees the band releasing their long-awaited follow-up album, Outer Isolation, and it definitely leaves one to wonder if the band is able to meet the high expectations that are placed upon them.

Album opener Cosmic Cortex puts the listener in the right setting, bringing the listener to a futuristic setting as a clean guitar line intro comes in, uncharacteristic of the band's style as presented on Black Future, but nevertheless ensures that listeners are kept interested in what the band has put in place. As the rest of the instruments enter, the improved and fuller production quality in the music becomes immediately apparent, and this is a nice touch to the music of Vektor and brings out the essence of the music more fully than before. The introductory track already gives listeners what to expect for the rest of the album to come, with the odd time signatures that the band loves playing at, and the technical display on the individual instruments promising a fun ride for technical metal junkies. It does not take long before vocalist David comes in, and his screechy style of vocals is immediately recognisable, providing a different sound to the band compared to other thrash metal bands.

Each and every instrument present on the album deserves a good listen to, considering the amount of effort and thought that has seemingly been placed on every note by guitarists David and Erik, bassist Frank and every hit on the drums by Blake. Drummer Blake especially caught my attention, with his effortless transition between drumming styles, from a simple beat to a sudden blast-beat section to a simple beat again on tracks like Cosmic Cortex, and also through the complex foot work despite the seemingly simple beats on his arms. Guitarists David and Erik also constantly litter the music with lots of lead guitar lines, and unlike many who overdo this, the band puts in just the right amount, ensuring that not a single moment is left over-saturated with ideas, choosing instead to spread these out over the whole course of the albums, serving listeners their ingenuity in bite-sized chunks. The fact that for the most part of the album, the two guitars are doing different stuff also keeps things interesting, making them stand out from their numerous other thrash metal counterparts. The guitarists also display their versatility, playing in a whole range of different musical styles, and this can be seen on songs like Tetrastructural Minds, probably one of the most melodic songs that the band has written thus far.

One thing that is noted here right from album opener Cosmic Cortex is that the band, on this record, has chosen to slow down slightly, compared to the urgency that is present on their debut, Black Future. Songs like Echoless Chamber even sees the track travelling at a mid-pace tempo for at least half the song before picking up to their usual speed, showing that the band is more than just speed and wankery. While the slowdown in their speed certainly put me off slightly, the album began to get more enjoyable as it progressed, picking up speed as it went along to satisfy the demands fans of the band's older material, with songs like Tetrastructural Minds sounding like it could come off Black Future. Of course, having these slower moments and progressive moments does not mean that the band has forsaken their original thrash metal roots, as references from various thrash metal acts can be found throughout the album, managing to capture the attention of and satisfy old school thrash fans as well.

With Outer Isolation, Vektor has perfected the art that they have crafted with their debut album, Black Future, and watching the band progress and transform (slightly) has definitely been a satisfying experience, and definitely leaves one craving for more even after numerous listens on loop.

Originally written for http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/

Phonebook Eater 7/10

"Outer Isolation" is one of the best Thrash Metal records of the last few years.

One of the most acclaimed Thrash Metal bands of the last few years, Vektor wowed plenty of Metal fans with the 2009 release 'Black Future', and was a tough one to follow. However, 'Outer Isolation' comes pretty darn close, showing that this band has no intent to slow down. This latest release is easily one of the great monsters of modern Thrash Metal, this said by someone who isn't exactly a fan of the new wave of the genre.

'Outer Isolation' from the first seconds of play is an album that loves to experiment with a somewhat spacey theme, not only in the lyrics but also in some futuristic sounding samples of machines and electronics. This is probably what makes the album very original sounding. But 'Outer Isolation' is also extremely violent, thrashy, in your face, and fiercely technical. Each one of these songs is extremely complex and flows in such a way that maximum attention is required. In one song, it feels like the band is constantly throwing at you different riffs, all of them pretty much face melting. The technical side of the band is quite impressive, each musician is incredibly skilled, to the point that saying this is Technical Thrash Metal is very much accurate.

Even after repeated listens, however, many parts here are very hard to follow, and everything passes by quite quickly, and by the end of the song, you won't remember all of the things happened. It gets almost frustrating at times, but knowing that every single note of a song was enjoyable ends up compensating the frustration somehow.

Examples of such sort of tracks are all over the place, starting from the ten minute opener 'Cosmic Vortex', mixing space ambience with fierce Thrash and tons of time changes. The two following song 'Echoless Chamber' and 'Dying World' are not only extremely fun to listen to but also have excellent ideas and riffs within them, maintaining that technical feel in every note. 'Tetrastructural Minds' and 'Fast Paced Society' seem to be not only two of the best pieces of the album but also the easier ones to get into, while the more complex songs 'Venus Project' and the title track actually feature more variety in the sound, both of them being more open towards doing slower moments or strange, low toned vocals.

An album very hard to get into, but when it reveals itself it's a wonderful joy of a Thrash Metal record, one of the best of that genre of the last few years. Essential listening for Thrash Metal fans.

Conor Fynes 'Black Future' - Vektor (7/10)

As much as I have attempted to explore it, I cannot say that I have been able to decipher- much less appreciate- the trend of thrash metal. There have certainly been bands in the style that I have greatly enjoyed, but as a whole, I cannot understand thrash's fixation with speed and soloing over what I perceive to be musicality, not to mention the fact that so many of the bands seem content to mirror the existing sounds of the style. On that note, I see a world of potential when the aggression of thrash is melded with more progressive sensibilities. Voivod pulled it off beautifully, and now Vektor- a thrash band from Arizona- is taking thrash and going somewhere interesting with it. True enough, Vektor's debut 'Black Future' is not revolutionizing the sounds of the genre by any degree, but the band's greater depth in their composition makes them one of the best greatest bands in the thrash revival movement.

From their logo and album artwork alone, I get the feeling that Vektor is taking after more classic progressive thrash outfits, most notably Voivod and Toxik. The music generally follows suit with this, although there is certainly a drawn influence from the more straightforward acts like Slayer and Exodus. The music is fast and furious for the most part, relying on riffs that immerse themselves in technical finesse as well as a rawer aggression that I sense often in the style. Balancing this out though is a dynamic, not only from heaviness to softer moments, but also in tempo. Often, the band will go from a blistering foray of furious soloing and likeminded rhythms, and then break down into something more atmospheric and doomy. The fast parts are admittedly fairly generic from an instrumental standpoint, but the fact that these compositions are given more than one-gear speed is enough to make Vektor stand apart from most in my books.

Maybe the best thing about Vektor are the vocals, performed here by David Disanto. Leading Vektor with higher pitched rasps, the sheer range that he is able to take his voice into is astounding. With one moment on the title track coming to mind, Disanto is able to create these vast inhales that sound almost inhuman. I do get the impression that the album goes on a tad too long, and despite the progressive tendencies of the band, some of the songs here do feel as if they thrash along a little past what would have been optimal. All the same, Vektor's 'Black Future' is a very good debut, taking the best parts of thrash metal and making an album that is both intelligent and a hell of a lot of fun.