Review: Vulturepeak / L.M.I. – “Split”

Self Released – 08 Feb 2021

Repeat listens are definitely in your future

When I was growing up in New Hampshire in the early 2000’s and first getting into music, I was absolutely an equal opportunity listener. I really loved ska, skate-punk, and Dischord style post-hardcore, but had a growing collection of metal adjacent hardcore and a lot of just generally heavier music. I loved it all. There was also a particularly violent metal / hardcore scene associated with southern New Hampshire and after leaving more than one show with a lot of injuries, I had a hard time listening to super heavy music for a while.

All this is to say is that I’m glad that in the past few years I’ve been able to get back into some of this stuff and leave some violent memories in the past, because the new split LP from L.M.I. and Vulturepeak is great. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of it is kind of what you’d expect from a fast paced black metal group, but there’s just enough extra energy and innovation throughout these tracks that it’s absolutely worth repeat listens. Every time I felt myself starting to think that a song had just about worn out its welcome, something new would pop up and drag me back in. In the best way. I’ve listened to this thing three times in a row and am probably coming back for a fourth.

“Forcing The Tone” is the best track on the L.M.I. side. The first song and a half by L.M.I. had me wondering if the rest of the songs would sound the same, but once L.M.I. opens up and gets a little weird, they’re a really great band. “Forcing The Tone” makes the best use of two opposing vocalists and it has a really wild melodic guitar part that I wish the band would make more use of on other tracks. “Never Absolute” is an absolute banger too. It’s one of those songs that does exactly what you think it’s going to from the first moment, but you don’t care because the energy is perfect and the band is doing a great job of selling you on the world of the song. And the guitar solo about halfway through almost verges on being poppy. It’s great and it’s weird and a little unexpected. More of this please.

I don’t like making split records into a “who’s better” conversation, but the Vulturepeak side did a lot more for me, although the L.M.I. had better production quality, so do with that what you will. Vulturepeak does a better job of using a lot of varied vocal sounds. There are these wild high pitched screams, but lots of growls too, and even melodic and spoken moments. It’s also great to have some tracks that allow their drummer to show off a bit, cause he can really play (I want more of the groove that opens “Glide And Swarm”). “Fifth Servant” was the most exciting song for me. There’s an intro that feels like spoken word that builds into a wild and huge chorus. “Fifth Servant” also sees Vulturepeak at its most melodic, which is a really welcome moment after a lot of wall of sound textures. 

IN CONCLUSION: If you’re already into this kind of music, you’ll definitely like it. I think both bands could be a little weirder than they are without alienating anyone, but it’s a fun record and I’ll definitely be listening to it a lot. I also think this could be a good crossover record for someone who’s maybe just dipping their toes into the world of heavier punk music – start with “Glide and Swarm.”