Vit - "-" (2010) [Self-Released]

VIT ARE FROM SWANSYLVANIA, NOT FUCKING ATHENS

Hailing from SWANSYLVANIA, Ohio, Vit plays a dirty, mean version of black/doom metal, interspersed with monolithic slabs of atmospheric sludge (post-metal for all you genre nerds out there). Now, when I say dirty, I mean I feel the insatiable need to shower whilst listening to this album. It's angry, discordant, plodding DOOM, and yet it is beautiful in its own right.

With a title like "-", I like to think of it as a sort of void; Vit doesn't want you to be happy while listening to this. This is a journey through pain and desolation. To title this abyss of an album would be insulting to the music. This is hatred of man set to music, why waste time titling it?

Now, when you start the album, don't let the introduction, "The Ardour of Saints," fool you; this is not a post-black metal band like Alcest or Lantlos, for when the track "Swansylvania" starts, it's like a swift kick to the groin. This is heavy black/doom, unlike anything I've ever heard. This is exactly what the modern United States scene has been looking for; a band that takes the black metal formula, modernizes it, but gives it the extra ounce of testosterone it's been lacking. Now, I'm not trying to say that other bands lack "balls" or anything, but Vit has some serious heavy-hitting going on here.

Of course, at first listen, I can say I didn't really enjoy Nate's vocals. They're very high in the mix and are rather...original, for lack of a better word. After a few listens I can say that with a different singer, Vit wouldn't get their point across. Through his non-stop presence during the album, Nate sounds like a man at the end of his rope; he's desperate and filled with hatred for everything, just like his music.

As a guitarist, myself, it's amazing to see just one musician write all the guitar parts seen on this album. Zack truly understands how to fuse various genres together to make something entirely new and original. To be able to go from the "backyard folk" in the beginning of the 15-minute epic "The Ascension Ritual" to heavy, sludgey blackness, and then to blistering black metal just a few minutes later without leaving the listener confused is definitely something to be proud of.

All of these elements with John's powerful, tasteful drumming and intricate cymbal work (I hope I'm getting all this drumming jargon right, I don't know anything about drums...) makes for a highly memorable listen. Coming completely out of left field, Vit presents us, the listeners, with something completely new.

Keep your eye out for Vit, I see this band going places.

Stream all of "-" and buy a wooden box containing the album here.

-Jon