{"id":831985,"date":"2026-03-17T15:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T15:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/831985\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T15:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T15:12:14","slug":"vanta-perpetual-selection-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/831985\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanta – Perpetual Selection Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The harsh environs of Australia are the perfect breeding grounds for brutal music. Xenobiotic<\/strong><\/a> based their latest on the hellish setting of Dante\u2019s Inferno, an ideal topic for the desert landscape that dominates their home continent. The melodeath of Freedom of Fear<\/strong><\/a> has an acerbic tone perfect for combatting the numerous venomous animals that lurk there. Newcomers Vanta<\/strong> are similarly raising their debut, Perpetual Selection, amidst the brutal, but also lovely, backdrop of the Land Down Under. In truth, Australia is a complex place, featuring the harsh Outback, lush jungles, beautiful beaches, and modern cityscapes. Vanta<\/strong> reflect this complexity, playing a brutal melodeath style 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 perpetual forces conspiring against their survival.<\/p>\n

Perpetual Selection borrows heavily from the crushing melodeath of The Black Dahlia Murder<\/strong><\/a>, yet where TBDM<\/strong> inaccurately draw comparisons to metalcore, Vanta<\/strong> happily blend metalcore into their sound. However, they play energetic melodeath first and foremost, featuring some impressive guitar leads with only the occasional sprinkle of a breakdown (\u201cStillwater,\u201d \u201cSandstalker\u201d) or down-tuned guitar tones (\u201cEmpty Shell\u201d). Beneath the crushing riffs is an effective melodic layer produced by the guitar duo of Thien Huynh and Jesse Venus. There\u2019s a sense of constant kinetic motion between the duo as they lay out hooky leads (\u201cEmpty Shell,\u201d \u201cKuyang\u201d) and speedy solos (\u201cStillwater\u201d). The blistering kitwork from Ferdi Handojo also adds to the sense of non-stop energy. Like TBDM<\/strong>, Vanta<\/strong> have a knack for creative intros that heighten the excitement when the song proper roars into action. These intros range from gentle arpeggios (\u201cSacred Light,\u201d \u201cStillwater\u201d) to Fulci<\/strong><\/a>-style horror screams (\u201cKuyang\u201d), and all culminate in a testosterone-fueled explosion of riffs, blast beats, and growls.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned in the intro, Vanta<\/strong> infuse a wide variety of influences from various genres, yet somehow allow them to flow naturally together. Following an energetic set of songs, \u201cDrown\u201d slows things down with a melodic piece that has a whiff of sadboi melodeath stalwarts Insomnium<\/strong><\/a>, and yet it somehow works, perhaps due to how it eases into the gloom following an energetic intro. \u201cAlchemy\u201d similarly heads in a new direction, patiently building into a memorable chorus rather than immediately going for the jugular. Somehow it transports me to Stortregn<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Impermanence as Venus sings \u201cAsh to ash \/ dust to dust.\u201d Finally, \u201cPurity\u201d is a complete surprise, ripping a speedy tune that sounds uncannily like something off an Archspire<\/strong><\/a> record. Yet this all works, creating an exciting and varied album, in part thanks to the chameleon-like vocal attack from Venus. He seamlessly switches from his usual rasps to deep growls to speedy Oliver Rae Aleron delivery as if it all naturally fits together.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This variety in tunes does expose some weaknesses on Perpetual Selection, however. Not all influences that Vanta<\/strong> draw from work in their favor. The straight-up metalcore track, \u201cSandstalker,\u201d sticks out like a sore thumb with its lack of melody or hooks. Sandwiched between two fantastic tunes early on, it threatens to derail the record right from the start. A breakdown halfway through the bloated \u201cStillwater\u201d is another odd choice; it\u2019s not a metalcore song, so the segment just feels out of place. Yet it\u2019s the penultimate track, \u201cTransmorcide,\u201d that feels the most adrift. It lacks any hooks or leads and seems unsure what it\u2019s trying to do. These issues don\u2019t detract enough to keep Perpetual Selection from being enjoyable and worth checking out, though; they just show opportunities for growth.<\/p>\n

Perpetual Selection proves to be a fun record from a new, young band with lots of promise. Vanta<\/strong> shows creative songwriting chops as well as a willingness to stretch out of their comfort zone. Most importantly, they fit nicely in that TBDM<\/strong> sound without being a mere clone. If they hone their talents and skills, they can find a niche in the melodeath realm that TBDM<\/strong> and Inferi<\/strong><\/a> have carved, hopefully for many years to come.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: 3.0\/5.0
DR<\/strong>: 6 | Format Reviewed<\/strong>: WAV
Label<\/strong>: Self-Released
Website<\/strong>: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Official Site<\/a>
Releases Worldwide<\/strong>: March 13th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The harsh environs of Australia are the perfect breeding grounds for brutal music. Xenobiotic based their latest on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":831986,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3936],"tags":[45789,12933,23447,28032,77,238712,140658,238713,4257,233208,4259,23586,269,238714,6080,6082,12938,238715,238716,16,15,238717,238718],"class_list":["post-831985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-45789","tag-3-0","tag-archspire","tag-australian-metal","tag-entertainment","tag-freedom-of-fear","tag-fulci","tag-inferi","tag-insomnium","tag-mar26","tag-melodic-death-metal","tag-metalcore","tag-music","tag-perpetual-selection","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-self-released","tag-stortregn","tag-the-black-dahlia-murder","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-vanta","tag-xenobiotic"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116245164853571153","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831985","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=831985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}