{"id":304377,"date":"2025-07-30T16:45:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T16:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/304377\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T16:45:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T16:45:14","slug":"vertebra-the-same-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/304377\/","title":{"rendered":"Vertebra – The Same Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Nameless_n00b_601<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"There\u2019s no shortage of bands trying to bottle the lightning of Death<\/strong>\u2019s progressive era. Between groups like Horrendous<\/strong>, Paranorm<\/strong>, or even not-quite-cover-band Gruesome<\/strong>\u2014whose recent take on Human with Condemned Identity is the band\u2019s most exciting effort\u2014there are plenty of impressive takes on Chuck Schuldiner\u2019s revered late-\u201890s output. Enter Vertebra<\/strong>: a Brazilian act that formed in the mid-\u201890s, Vertebra <\/strong>disbanded before releasing a debut album. Now, in 2025, they have re-emerged from the sands of time with a mission to finally finish what they started. Their long-overdue debut release, The Same, promises a slab of progressive death\/thrash which balances \u201craw edges\u201d with \u201cmelodic awareness\u201d in a way that \u201cdefies the passage of time.\u201d Can these reunited rockers craft a collection of tunes that innovates and stands alongside their clear inspiration? Or has their time apart left us with a batch of songs that feel, well, The Same?<\/p>\n

\ufeffThe Same by VERTEBRA<\/a><\/p>\n

Vertebra<\/strong>\u2019s take on death\/thrash is firmly rooted in the sound of albums like Symbolic and The Sound of Perseverance, but it\u2019s supercharged thanks to the dynamic guitar work of Arildo Leal and Fernando Luzardo. The duo rarely stays in one mode for long, shifting between acrobatic riffing and soaring melodic leads, often favoring the harmonic minor. This is the scale that classic Death<\/strong> melodies like \u201cLack of Comprehension\u201d are in\u2014it sounds \u201cEgyptian\u201d for lack of a better descriptor. Whether it\u2019s Kreator<\/strong>-tinged thrash gallops (\u201cOblivion\u201d), aggressive death metal tremolos (\u201cArchitecture of Perspective\u201d), or proggy suspended-chord riffs (\u201cFanatic and Picturesque\u201d), the two guitarists glide between styles with confidence, driving these constantly evolving compositions. The Same also features significantly more lead and harmony work than classic Death<\/strong> albums, which largely relegate leads to dedicated solo sections. Those are present here as well, and they\u2019re impressive and reminiscent of James Murphy, especially, but Leal and Luzardo present a much more fluid take on leads, weaving them in and out of standard riffs (\u201cHumanity\u201d) and sweeping melodic sections (\u201cBlessed Are the Forgetful\u201d). Occasionally, this can distract from the effective simplicity of certain moments, but overall, their distinctive approach is one of Vertebra<\/strong>\u2019s key strengths.<\/p>\n

That same sense of urgency and exploration extends to Vertebra<\/strong>\u2019s rhythm section\u2014sometimes to the detriment of the songs and, by extension, the album as a whole. Drummer Cristiano Hulk (yes, really) brings a rock-solid, Bill Andrews-esque backbone to the material, but it\u2019s bassist Tiago Vargas who often takes center stage. His hyperactive, \u201clead bass\u201d approach recalls a blend of Steve DiGiorgio and Geddy Lee. Rarely does Vargas follow along with the rhythm guitars, instead opting for dexterous, serpentine basslines that give an Atheist<\/strong> flair to much of the record. Often, this accents the part nicely and provides a bit more instrumental nuance to any given section, but when it doesn\u2019t\u2014during a big chorus (\u201cThe Same\u201d) or melodic section (\u201cFanatic and Picturesque\u201d)\u2014this highlights The Same\u2019s biggest issue: a lack of definitive, memorable hooks to contrast with its rapid pace. A Death<\/strong> song like \u201cSpirit Crusher\u201d works as well as it does because its simple, primary chorus riff provides both a breather and release from the adventurous parts which surround it. Vertebra<\/strong> has no shortage of solid riffs and interesting sections that usually transition fluidly in and out of each other, but lack emphatic or iconic moments that make each song stand out.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This places The Same in an interesting predicament, where all of its tracks are remarkably consistent and varied in their own way, but as an album, I\u2019m hard pressed for individual moments that beckon repeated listens. Vertebra<\/strong> succeeds with numbers like the sprawling \u201cBehind the World,\u201d the Masvidal-inspired \u201cOvercoming the Void,\u201d and mid-tempo prog-ripper \u201c95 Eyes,\u201d but much of the track list struggles to leave a lasting impression, even after a week of listening. Part of the issue lies in Arildo Leal\u2019s vocal delivery. His high-pitched, raspy bark is serviceable in verses and suits the style (a less favorable description might claim it sounds like Dave Mustaine doing his best Quorthon impression), but it falters in the choruses, many of which rely on simple, repeated phrases (\u201cBehind the World,\u201d \u201cHumanity,\u201d or \u201cThe Same\u201d). This puts more pressure on the songwriting to carry the weight, but it can get lost in the album\u2019s relentless pacing.<\/p>\n

The Same is a frustrating record to evaluate. It\u2019s clearly good but missing the extra \u201coomph\u201d of something great. Vertebra<\/strong> demonstrates a thorough understanding of the ins and outs of what makes late-\u201890s Death<\/strong> engaging and puts its own unique spin on the material with oodles of instrumental embellishments. As a debut, it\u2019s strong and satisfying in its way, but it doesn\u2019t quite rise to meet the standard set by its peers. If Vertebra<\/strong> ever produces a follow-up, maybe next time they can focus on making sure the songs don\u2019t sound The Same.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong> 3.0\/5.0
DR:<\/strong> 7 | Format Reviewed:<\/strong> 320 kb\/s CBR MP3
Label:<\/strong> Xtreem Music
Website:<\/strong> xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com\/album\/the-same<\/a>
Releases Worldwide:<\/strong> July 29th, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By: Nameless_n00b_601 There\u2019s no shortage of bands trying to bottle the lightning of Death\u2019s progressive era. Between groups…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3936],"tags":[743,12933,112047,112048,10957,12936,112049,77,92318,91261,112050,269,6080,6082,112051,112052,25989,16,15,112053,112054],"class_list":{"0":"post-304377","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-743","9":"tag-3-0","10":"tag-atheist","11":"tag-brazilian-metal","12":"tag-death","13":"tag-death-metal","14":"tag-death-thrash","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-geddy-lee","17":"tag-jul25","18":"tag-kreator","19":"tag-music","20":"tag-review","21":"tag-reviews","22":"tag-steve-digiorgio","23":"tag-the-same","24":"tag-thrash-metal","25":"tag-uk","26":"tag-united-kingdom","27":"tag-vertebra","28":"tag-xtreem-music"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114943198813694111","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}