Australia’s harsh environments are the ideal breeding ground for brutal music. Xenobiotic based their latest album on the hellish setting of Dante’s Inferno, an ideal theme for the desolate landscape that dominates their continent. Freedom of Fear’s melodeath has a scorching tone, ideal for fighting off the numerous venomous animals that lurk there. Newcomers Vanta similarly raise their debut, Perpetual Selection, within the brutal, yet also beautiful, setting of the Down Under. In fact, Australia is a complex place, with its harsh outback, lush jungles, beautiful beaches and modern urban landscapes.
Vanta reflect that complexity, playing a brutal style of melodeath that borrows from a myriad of influences outside the genre. Time will tell whether these guys have what it takes to thrive in this environment or fall to the eternal forces conspiring against their survival.
Perpetual Selection borrows heavily from the crushing melodeath of The Black Dahlia Murder, however, while TBDM draw inaccurate comparisons to metalcore, Vanta pleasantly blend metalcore into their sound. Even so, they play energetic melodeath first and foremost, with some impressive guitar leads with only occasional touches of breakdown (“Stillwater,” “Sandstalker”) or downtuned guitars (“Empty Shell”). Beneath the crushing riffs lies an effective melodic layer produced by the guitar duo Thien Huynh and Jesse Venus. There’s a sense of continuous kinetic motion between the duo as they unfurl hooked leads (“Empty Shell,” “Kuyang”) and fast solos (“Stillwater”). Ferdi Handojo’s fiery kitwork also adds to the sense of unstoppable energy. Like TBDM, Vanta have a knack for creative intros that ramp up the excitement when the song roars into action. These intros range from gentle arpeggios («Sacred Light», «Stillwater») to Fulci-style screams of terror («Kuyang»), and all culminate in an explosion of riffs, blast beats and testosterone-filled growls.
As I mentioned in the intro, Vanta incorporate a wide variety of influences from various musical genres, but somehow let them flow together naturally. Following an energetic set of songs, “Drown” slows things down with a melodic track that smells of sadboi melodic death à la Insomnium, and yet it somehow works, perhaps because of how it relaxes into the darkness after an energetic intro. “Alchemy” similarly heads in a new direction, patiently building a memorable chorus instead of going straight to the slaughter. In a way it transports me to Stortregn’s Impermanence as Venus sings “Ash to ash / dust to dust”. Finally, “Purity” is a complete surprise, copying a fast melody that sounds strangely like something off an Archspire record. However, all of it works, creating a thrilling and varied album, partly thanks to Venus’s chameleonic vocal assault. He shifts seamlessly from his usual shrieks to deep growls and then to the rapid delivery of Oliver Rae Aleron, as if it all fits together naturally.
That variety across the tracks reveals some weaknesses in Perpetual Selection, however. Not all the influences Vanta draw from work in their favor. The quintessential metalcore track, “Sandstalker”, stands out for its lack of melody or melodies. Crammed between two fantastic tracks at the start, it threatens to derail the record from the outset. A breakdown midway through the bloated “Stillwater” is another odd choice. It isn’t a metalcore song, so the section just seems out of place. However, the penultimate track, “Transmorcide”, is the one that seems most irrelevant. It lacks melodies or leads and seems uncertain about what it’s trying to do. These issues don’t diminish enough to keep Perpetual Selection from being enjoyable and worth a try. They simply point to opportunities for growth.
Perpetual Selection proves to be a fun album from a new, young band with a lot of promise. Vanta show creative abilities in songwriting, as well as a willingness to step outside their comfort zone. Most importantly, they fit beautifully into TBDM’s sound without being mere clones. If they hone their talents and skills, they can find a place in the world of melodeath music that TBDM and Inferi have carved out, hopefully for many more years.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-release
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website
Releases worldwide: March 13, 2026
