Vltimas: the real McCoy
DUNCAN EVERSON
WHILE THE REST of Bristol’s population enjoy their warm cider and crispy sunburn, a small contingent of metal fans gathers at the Thekla to throw their middle fingers upwards in defiance of that bright bastard in the sky. Tonight, we bear witness to the ungodly might of Vltimas. Surprisingly, this evening sees no support acts, only the blackened death metal supergroup that includes ex-Morbid Angel vocalist/bassist/terrifying man David Vincent, former Mayhem guitarist Rune ‘Blasphemer’ Eriksen and Cryptopsy drummer Flo Mounier. It’s anyone’s guess why they’re doing this solo tonight or what they have in store to fill up the two-hour slot they’ve given themselves with only a single album’s worth of material. Well, an hour and a half by the time they kick things off 20 minutes after their scheduled start time.
What the crowd lacks in capacity is made up by their zealot enthusiasm as a front row of nutcases headbang and scream along to apocalyptic opener and album title track Something Wicked Marches In. After hanging out in the shadows for a few minutes, Vincent makes his entrance, leering over his followers like a Satanic desert prophet in an outfit that would put The Undertaker to shame. When he isn’t bellowing his signature guttural vibrato, he takes the opportunity between songs to dish out his anti-authoritarian wisdom laced with his cheeky charm, albeit to a mixed response from the audience.
With the exception of a drum solo and a cracking Southern metal-styled cover of Alice Cooper’s Go To Hell, the band’s set is an almost verbatim run-through of their 2019 album. The quality of their performance is nigh on ungodly, with every blastbeat and thunderous riff executed with monstrous intensity. But just when things seem to be hitting their peak for Vltimas, it’s curtains, leaving the crowd on an abrupt and a slightly awkward note that has everyone scratching their head thinking, “Is that it?” With no encore to speak of, it all feels like a quick in-and-out job. Playing for just shy of an hour, it’s a massive shame considering the acres of time left before curfew. A big opportunity missed to show off new music or showcase the local talent. This degree of quality deserves more quantity.