[Podcast] Ep. 70: [Interview] w/ FERDI HANDOJO of VANTA (AU) + ‘Perpetual Selection’ [Album Review].
I: Podcast Episode #70 - Interview w/ FERDI HANDOJO
VIDEO INTERVIEW LINK:
(via the official ISC Youtube Channel)
Podcast/Audio-Only Version:
via the Podcast category on our Youtube Channel + podcast app platforms*
*ISC Podcast is now also available on:
Castamatic, Castro, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Podcast Guru, Podverse and TrueFans, as well as Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, GoodPods, iHeartRadio, PocketCasts and RadioPublic.
II: Album Review - VANTA (AU): Perpetual Selection LP
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Release Date: March 13th, 2026 (via Independent Release)
Genre: Melodic/Technical/Progressive Death Metal
Before we begin the review proper, I’d just like to once again thank Ferdi, Vanta and Dysie from Cult Etiquette PR for assisting with arranging and conducting both the above podcast interview as well as providing us with a copy of Perpetual Selection ahead of time.
I’d unfortunately been unable to complete this review prior to the release date, having been mired in a pretty intense personal/family situation that has now thankfully resolved. The advantage of this, however, is I’ve been able to get additional time and multiple plays on this one.
Fortunately, it’s an enjoyable album, one worth warranting multiple spins in a short time-frame!
Being a relatively new act from the reverse-coasted Western Australian climes of Perth, Vanta have thus far released
‘Empty Shells’ does not in fact do what it says on the tin, title-wise. Rising with a singular jagged guitar refrain, the track begins in a fairly straightforward manner. There’s your roll/tom-heavy drum opener from above interviewee Ferdi Handojo, crisply produced and sounding as clinically sharp as the thick power-chords battering at the gates. The thundering march of Thien Huynh (Guitars) and Jesse Venus (Vocals/Guitars) continues unabated into a martial death-thrash style. Jesse’s vocals take on a strong latter-day The Black Dahlia Murder inflection, with a shrieking rasp that brings Inferi closely to mind alongside snappy and technical riffage.
For a first full-length LP, this Western Aussie trio have clearly put a huge amount of thought into articulation and dynamics. Our opening track, therefore, contains just enough variations and embellishments per the modern melodic/technical death textbook in just the right places to avoid staleness. It’s getting harder and harder to stand out from an increasingly oversaturated swamp of well-produced melodic metal contemporaries, but I’m impressed enough with the variations on a modern melo/tech theme to keep a keen ear out for the rest. That massive slamming breakdown riff with some dual-vocals/low-register barks is a welcome sight, as is some deliciously spindly, shred-heavy soloing in the tracks’ latter half.
Link to ‘Empty Shells’ Music Video, via Vanta’s official Youtube channel:
Second track ‘Sandstalker’ has an opening that implies pure groove-metal, that dialled in volume swell of a hammering chord progression with the punchy fret-bounce riff that shortly ensues afterwards. The semi spoken-word nature of the vocals doesn’t help defy such an expectation either - it’s not until the riff breaks from a thuggish stomp into a punkier chug, breaking out into odd time signatures and back again that the death metal flavour comes to view. The lower-register growls are a nice little juxtaposition, encompassing the more mid-tempo space offered by a near deathcore-sounding riff structure. It’s fairly by-the-numbers in terms of not being the most original song ever, but the delivery is great enough to maintain aforementioned interest.
I mentioned TBDM before, right? Well, ‘Kuyang’ is where things break away from the more plodding and chug-heavy nature of the prior two tracks, into a gangly and nimble riff that’d feel just as home on the US melo-deathers’ Deflorate LP as the present track. As you can imagine from such a comparison, the band keep the tempo cranked high throughout, bursting all over the shop with armfuls of fret-dangling spider-hands riffing alongside more focused, cramped death metal drumming.
It’s no secret from the band about the songs’ lyrical/thematic origin - and what better way to rouse up the adrenaline than through techy, melodic death metal based on Indonesian/Bornear folklore about a disembodied head which apparates, terrorises entire villages and disappears back into the night?! Ferdi has gone on record to clarify that the track is effectively about what ensues in the aftermath of such a demon wreaking havoc on the human populace, and how survivors would cope in such a situation.
I recommend checking out the video clip for ‘Kuyang’ below, as Elliot Charleston of ECM Digital Photography & Video has done an absolutely fire job bridging the lyrical and musical intent of the track into visual form.
Before I do that, though - here’s an artists’ impression of what a kuyang could look in-media-res (spooky, and metal-as-fark):
Image Credit: Bucek, via this great little introduction to the folklore of the Kuyang (Medium.com).
Link to ‘Kuyang’ Video Clip, courtesy of Elliot Charleston @ ECM Digital Photography & Video & Vanta:
I’ve spent a little more time showcasing this track as a) there’s more accompanying material associated with it, why not?, and b) it’s a great example of the bands’ comfort in utilising the LP as a space to creatively amble about all number of modern death metal nooks and crannies, sampling everything from rip-and-tear death-thrash to technical, harmonic melodeath with nil awkwardness for the listener.
There’s a sense of flow, of mindful delivery throughout this LP proper. Just the ease through which songwriting soars overhead across modern death metal regions, less a rambunctious flightless bird who got stuck into a few too many tins of Emu Lager at a campsite, and more a wise wedge-tailed eagle soaring on thermals. ‘Drown’ is exemplary of this capacity to shift gears once more, bristling like a hyper-speed modernised Daysend with its’ militaristic, tight intro, cascading into a fairly humble but steadfast verse riff. It’s not long before said verse riff is interrupted and punctuated with subtle sweeps, flourishes and the like, building to vocals that feel near gang-chant before veering straight back into melo-death-ville (population: one music writer who makes up his own words). Admittedly not my favourite track on the album, but that could also be attributable to my busted-ass ADHD brain requiring more speed all the time than any fault in the songwriting.
On that last point, follow-up track ‘Sacred Light’ does a fantastic job of pulling the rug out on us attentional-deficit speed enjoyers. Beginning with what on first listen I assumed to be one of those standalone instrumental type deals, the breakneck pacing that very quickly engulfs a singular arpeggiated wail is just one-hundred-percent chef’s kiss. There’s a flirtation between the over-familiar single-guitar riff refrains with some interesting, dynamic chords that bring to mind Inanimate Existence as easily as, say, black metal. It’s not too show-offy, it’s not attempting to rewrite the Riff Book, but it’s once again enough to get these guys ahead of every other Local Techy Melodeathy Opener to keep a snob like me locked in and engaged. The switch-up between those gruffer barks and caterwauling screeches works to fantastic effect here, as does a serious uptick in overall tempo against a super bro-ready tech-death breakdown in the latter half.
‘Alchemy’ cranks up the black metal influence more than a smidge, a battle-ready progression that feels right at home on early Dissection albeit with very squeaky-clean production polish. Another impressive feat for the band, whilst I’m on it - Jesse has done an incredible job on ensuring the band nailed the modernist mix with this album. Onto the rest of the track, which promptly sets such an introduction aside for more fret-punching, twist-and-turn playoffs between guitarists.
The interplay between Jesse, Thien and Ferdi is on full display here, a veritable washing-machine of seemingly contrasting riffs, beats and leads ducking and weaving with the grace of a professional boxer - only for the band to return as a trio for some serious face-punching breakdown riffs between loftier, proggier up-tempo melodeath. All that baked into repetitive vocal refrains that act as another percussive instrument, keeping the whole shebang tied together in satisfying form. Again, impressive as hell for a bands’ first LP effort, I must say.
I really cannot help but sit here at this stage in the album thinking “I almost shouldn’t like this, but I do?”. Like any metalhead of the mid-thirties variety, I spent absolutely far too much time deeply huffing and imbibing the explosion of prog-death/prog-metal/vaguely-djent modern-metal that seemed especially rife in the early to late 2010’s. Bands of this ilk ordinarily kind of bounce harmlessly off my hippocampus, Teflon noise to my overworn riff-ears.
The sultry, Eastern-inspired tinges of ‘Stillwater’ then serves yet more reminder that these guys are playing devilish little tricks amongst a well-rehearsed and familiar modernised death metal template. Cranking out at blistering pace following a very brief, clean little intro, the song bursts into even more ravenous kilter than the prior track. The aggression factor is upped a notch throughout, blasting sections only interspersed by double-kick-heavy, punchy walls of riff. It works well and is reminiscent of Allegaeon’s speedier outputs; a technical foray with serpentine avenues snaking out into all number of tech/melodeath passages. At this stage, I’m left both craving a whole follow-up LP at just this speed and hugely thankful for the cavernous, growl-filled, tumbling breakdown riff that punctuates said speediness. You’re not being skull-dragged into wholly new death metal territory as one might be with, say, Cryptic Shift, but it’s such a fun play on modern dynamics that it doesn’t matter.
As fully expected from a couple of blistering prior numbers and of any modern death metal act, Vanta bust out the anthemic, operatic and wailing-lead-filled bombast for second single ‘Transmorcide’, Perpetual Selections’ penultimate track. By now, I feel heartily full of both familiar riffage and clever subtle new twists, but I’m noticing even on the ‘review listen’ that my attention isn’t wavering. For someone otherwise admittedly approaching fairly burnt out on a lot of polished modern death metal, that’s a great sign. If my cynical ass can maintain focus this well, they’re evidently doing something right.
There’s an evil-early-Opeth (Whitewater Playground?!) warbling for just a moment with the leads before all Hell breaks loose with some of the fastest tremolo death metal riffing, before Ferdi’s octopoid drumwork ensnares the riff in a one-two playoff between melodic death metal, prog, hardcore and even a smattering of black metal. The frantic pacing, ascending single-string leads into a trundling, choppy, discordant midsection is a tasty progression, pausing only momentarily for air before the band ups the ante yet again for an exciting, thrashy second half. The Big Chungus of a breakdown riff in the second half, intermittently chopped into by the odd jagged angular chord/arpeggio, is a satisfying break before the frantic death-thrashin’ run to the tracks’ end. This one is absolutely guaranteed to get even the most longneck-sedated local pits going, and it stays its’ welcome just long enough.
I know this is an album review, not a press-release, but I think Thien’s approach towards writing the track is itself exemplary of the sheer fun-factor that permeates the albums’ writing altogether.
Quoting from Thien directly:
““We wrote ‘Transmorcide’ more or less around the same time as ‘Kuyang’ and we were pushing each other constantly and wanted to take our writing up a notch by blending in more of that modern American death metal sound over our European melodeath blueprint. As a result, you get these blackened nuances with the swede sway and more technical riffs over faster drums and bouncy grooves.
Here’s a fun fact! The catalyst for ‘Transmorcide’ is the intro riff inspired by a trance track I was obsessed with at the time, which is probably the last place most people would expect for a band like us. I won’t say which one, but if you know Armin, you might hear it.
Everything else came together naturally after a big night, we were just writing, gas-lighting each other about who can play better and faster. But most importantly having fun with what made us feel the most alive.”
Anyway, all that said - it’s time now for the finale.
“Finally”, you say, weary of my overly wordy explanatory style.
To quote every Aussie crowd on every headliners’ supposed finish, pre-encore: “One more song! One more song!”.
Take everything I’ve just said about the entire review thus far, and pack it into the final track like its’ the worlds’ most expense-avoidant sardine cannery. ‘Purity’ feels like some biomechanical beast, rapidly expanding on a complex internal ecosystem to violently and organically unfold an exoskeleton of new time-signature dynamics, freshly emboldened risk-taking in a ball of controlled-chaos scattershot. Like a shotgun fired cautiously on a gun range, there’s a sense of physical spread by nature of the band-weapon itself, but the delivery lands fiercely on-target. On successive listens of this album, I’ve made note to flag ‘Stillwater’ as my favourite of the album, but ‘Purity’ outdoes it each time. Maybe it’s the AuDHD speed-sucker in me, but the absolute balls-to-the-wall ferocity of the album closer, and a steadfast refusal to pander to their own modern tropes with a choppy, chaotic breakdown section, feels like a nice bookending and teaser of what’s to come in future. Never mind the blistering soloing, earth-rumbling double-kicks and increasingly desperate riffing that only spits more venom as the track races towards one final razing crescendo.
The volume-swell on the final riff into silence signifies the end of one hell of a busy track, right off the back of an absolutely jam-packed full-length opus.
In summation - if you’re after a knuckle-dragging Aussie-style bludgeoning, you’d probably be better suited to something like the (fantastic) latest effort by Circle of Blood or even Carcinoid’s 2024 LP, . If you’re after Perthian viciousness and venom, I’d say give crew such as Malignant Monster, Dripped or Vestigial a try.
But if you don’t mind hearing out a band who aren’t as self-conscious as a lot of us about proudly wearing all the modern tropes on their sleeves, and employing said tropes in a way that feels freshly skilful and creative, do be sure to give Perpetual Selection a go. If a snobby crust-punk with a penchant for gurgling goregrind, disso-death or what-have-you can find joy in repeated listens of this debut, you can too.
Fans of The Black Dahlia Murder, Inferi, First Fragment, Xenobiotic and Allegaeon?
Get on this one. Like, now. You’ll eat this badboy right up.
LINKS:
Vanta:
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