Vane is a metal band that formed in the long-ago year of 2016 by two metal-shredding buddies, Mateusz Gajdzik (Witchking, Saratan, Crystal Viper) and Robert Zembrzycki (Acid Drinkers, Corruption, Saratan). They were joined by Marcin Frąckowiak (Percival Schuttenbach, Stos, River of Time) on bass, and added two Marcins for vocal work and drums (Marcin Parandyk and Marcin Zdeb, respectively). Three Marcin's strong, they immediately began work on a concept album, with Zembrzycki and Parandyk focusing on the lyrics and a conceptual story that draws from the true-life Golden Age of Piracy. After a year, they have released The Prologue, an EP that will end up being a part of a larger album.
Things explode out of the gate with "Born Again", and the track definitely gets your blood moving, with a catchy-ass chorus that has been playing in my head since I heard it. Parandyk switches between a ferocious metal roar and a growling delivery that pushes the song along almost as much as the excellent bass-line. Over the course of the 3 song EP, Vane sustains a high-adrenaline attack with an almost metalcore feel to it, but I wouldn't want to paint Vane into a corner with a simple genre comparison, because there's more going on then that.
Vane has some clear 80's influences and they also incorporate some blastbeats that will hit death metal enthusiasts just right, before unleashing some speedier, grindcore type segments, minus the indecipherable vocals. The layers come together to create a dynamic, full-court press assault; by the time you get to the hook, you're almost out of breath. The choruses themselves tend to go more in a "groove" direction, which suits these tracks perfectly, giving you some slower head-banging instead of the frantic, maniacal shredding of the verses.
The barely contained fury of "Edge of the Cutlass" is a good example of what I'm talking about. Over the near constant double bass petal, Vane layers blazing but tight solos and distorted metal growls right up to a frenetic edge, before dropping back down into fourth gear for the chorus. Gajdzik and Zembrzycki slow things down a hair, dropping into some tight grooves with big guitar bends that reminded me a bit of Slayer and Lamb of God.
Speaking of Lamb of God, one thing I consistently appreciated about Parandyk's vocal work is how he stays right on the edge of indecipherable. I know it's near sacrilegious to say so, but I like my metal when I can at least understand 2 out of every 5 words being sung, and although Parandyk does drop into unintelligible growling and screams at times, it's not the wounded animal howling that is employed by a lot of metal vocalists; when he goes completely into demon mode, it serves the song well. It would also be a shame to not understand any of the lyrics; being a concept album, there is some great swashbuckling, brutal imagery to be found here.
"Your Pain I Am" finishes out the EP, slowing things down just a hair, but the energy stays high. They open up the track and let a bit more space stand on its own throughout, but the song is all the heavier for it. There is some excellent drum-work here, and Zdeb really drives the entire track, keeping a stiff backbone for the sparser arrangements.
Vane's EP, "The Prologue" is a promising metal entry that has me looking forward to their full album, due out sometime in 2018, with an accompanying tour to go along with it. Some of riffs are a little "safe", for lack of a better word, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing; Vane knows what they want to do, and they do it. You can tell that a lot of heart and energy went into The Prologue, from the carefully arranged layers to the concept pirate lyrics. When they drop their full album, i'll be in line.
Listen to the EP, The Prologue, here.
To get more info on the band, head over to their official page.
Drop by their Facebook page and give em a like here.
For even more, you can go to their youtube page and see these savages in the flesh and watch their vlog here