Review by Jack on August 17, 2002.

At its core the Vultures project is industrial band with hardcore vocals thrown in with techno beats for good measure, and to keep the blood pumping. What isn’t as apparent until a few listens through of this short MCD/EP/Demo is that Vultures is something that is infectious and throttling to the senses; enough to ignite kidney hemorrhaging and cerebral carnage through their sonic density.

The opening song ‘Internal Plea’ kicks off with some techno/cyber chanting followed by a dense undertone of synthesizers and effects and then a brief respite until the rest of the musical onslaught flies into top-notch massacre-mode. Vocalist Rani Zager I would guess would be equally suited to a metal band or hardcore band as he would to this ‘industrial sound system massacre’ as described by Vultures themselves. One name that many of you may recognise playing on “Vultures” is Maor Applebaum (Sleepless) who was 50% responsible for the excellent progressive-dark-ambient-jazz “Winds Blow Higher” album last year.

While not being the strictest metal album in the sense of the word, I thought this album was a worthy inclusion to the metal world due to the fact that I am sure some folks who dug some of the more subtle industrial elements of many industrial metal albums may really get into the full industrial experience via Vultures.

Bottom Line: If you found yourself wishing some metal bands could build upon a particular industrial beat or atmosphere that was happening throughout a specific song or album, then perhaps Vultures could well be an avenue worth exploring. Whilst I am not suggesting Vultures is the answer to the industrial/metal solution, there is enough cool material on this MCD/EP/Demo to warrant a good look up and down.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 8
Originality: 7
Overall: 7

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Felix on August 14, 2019.

Total Hate are an example for the kind of evolution I like. They did not modify their style until they played a completely different form of metal, they just improved their skills within the given frame. No doubt, there was plenty of room for improvement after the half-baked debut. Anyway, Total Hate have taken the right decisions during the last years and already the opener of their fourth full-length presents a riff which does not lack recognition value. The band accelerates the tempo and a pretty stormy black metal track unfolds. The production, this is also getting clear very quickly, has found the right balance between underground doctrines and hi-fi transparency and given this situation, I am motivated to dive deeply into the entire album.

The musicians still create martial, raw black metal which does not lack brutality or meanness. They have found the key to pen effective leads and the aura of the music matches the lyrical content. "Thou Shalt Kill (Killing Spree Unleashed)" speaks volumes in this respect, but let's stay at this song for a moment. The drummer intersperses some interesting figures and even if some might say this is just an irrelevant detail, I am of the opinion that this performance indicates a more meticulous approach of the band. No matter which side you choose, this is another great song that reflects the spirit of the old black metal Gods. By contrast, the following "Raven Wings & Witchcraft Spells" has to struggle in order to keep the quality level. Its riff is good, but it has been heard many times before. In addition, the mid-paced parts do not have the effect they should create and the gloomy guitars during the instrumental sequence does not send shivers down my spine.

No doubt, the stylish artwork mirrors the influences of the band. Norwegian pioneers such as Darkthrone and Immortal have left their mark (the partly mighty mid-paced closer comes straight out of Blashyrkh). The cruel voice and the vigorous leads reanimate the force of those pioneers in their early days and the quasi-title track "His Throne Beyond a Black Veil" is a worthy flagship of this work. It’s almost solemn atmosphere brings the best moments of Sweden's Pest into my mind. Nevertheless, usually the dudes from Nuremburg prefer a pretty rumbling yet professional approach. With very few exceptions, the songs are convincing and add value to the global scene with its roughly 50.000 underground combos. If you do not have much time, test the shortest track here, "Death Raid Apocalypse". Despite its pretty stupid title, it shows that Total Hate are able to manage fast-paced, compact tunes as well as their usually longer pieces. Perhaps they increase the number of this kind of songs in the future? This would be another type of evolution I appreciate.

Rating: 7.9 out of 10