‘Ache of Eternity’ is the new five-track EP Georgia-based straight edge metallic hardcore outfit Vatican. They mix metalcore and abrasive hardcore into something that is always heavy and in your face, always intense, yet also had a melodic sensibility running through it that provides it with quite a different approach to many. It is very much an underground sound, and one that will appeal to quite a wide spectrum of metalheads, while also bringing in both punk and hardcore fans as well. There is a feeling of genuine belief in what they are doing, none of the plastic shallowness that can sometimes come from hardcore, this is the real deal. The melodic introduction to “Dreamer’s BodyBag” is quite at odds with the rest of the EP, and it does make me wonder if they are still settling on their own style and are experimenting to see what works for them. Vitriolic and passionate, overall it is interesting without being indispensable.
Vatican - Ache Of Eternity
, Kev Rowland
