REVIEW: VCTMS – Pain Processing [EP/2024]
Artist: VCTMS
Album: Pain Processing – EP
We all go through the traumas and tribulations cast at us by life in different ways; each of us hosts our unique means to process the pain. For the better part of a decade now, Illinois-based metalcore outfit VCTMS have proven that when it comes to all things grief, they are the masters—so it makes perfect sense that their relentless and riveting EP set to close out a jam-packed 2024 is titled Pain Processing. A departure from the long-standing series of volumes that have defined their full length album run, Pain Processing does not represent a stylistic departure from the angst, aggression, and brooding introspection that defines their sound as it does a refinement and ferociously sharp focus on those same elements. Pain Processing is a pummeling torrent of immolating aggression mingling with clambering desperation and dissonant, trepanating terror to create some of VCTMS’ finest songs to date in a concise and crushing package.
Pain Processing is an instrumental powerhouse that continues to build on the band’s practically trademarked blend of nu metal and metalcore—with that intangible attitude and energy that only Illinois can provide. Album introduction and immense single “kill.me_please” sets the EP off on a vicious note, one that continues throughout the rambunctious “Mental//Prison.” Guitarist Mike Clampitt and percussionist Meredith Henderson dominate, with crunchy, relentless breakdowns and grooves aplenty. “Numb to it all” is another example, with Henderson’s foot on the figurative (and literal) gas throughout the track’s entirety, channeling a carefully sharpened nu-metallic edge. Other songs, like the more melancholic closer “tourniquet.” Oscillates back and forth between stuttering kick drums and jarring breakdowns and disparate, beautifully juxtaposed melodrama. This balance is also seen in a different fashion on “Trapped in Torment,” where industrial elements kick the track off before it descends into a crushing cavalcade of downtuned, dissonant grooves served up by Clampitt overtop of Henderson’s manic percussion. “All that’s left” is perhaps the best example of the duo’s dynamism and energy, as it starts a short, punishing example of the bitter, stinging and sinister aggression the band can boast, honed to a razor’s edge—all the better to slice through the listener’s eardrums and cut directly into their psyche.
Atop the stunning soundscape provided by Henderson and Clampitt, frontman John Matalone continues to dominate. Now the band’s voice for the lion’s share of their run, Matalone’s raw savage yells and ability to oscillate from piercing, shrill scream to grisly and guttural bellow brings scorching, sincere emotion to every second of VCTMS’ Pain Processing. “All that’s left” and the jaw-dropping lyrical barrage on “tourniquet.” Are excellent examples of this—as is his outstanding ability to work alongside Henderson on “Trapped in Torment,” where her harshly spat syllables blend perfectly into Matalone’s malevolent, malicious screams. Matalone’s ability to deliver lyrics in just about any manner with any vocal style the music calls for—and with the diversity abundant on Pain Processing, Matalone definitely has to work hard. Despite this, as he has with VCTMS’ last several releases, he continues to grow as a vocalist and seems to have an even more expanded range with even more immense, towering intensity—fitting the band’s growth and skyward trajectory.
When I first saw that VCTMS’ Pain Processing was the first non-split release of theirs to forsake the “Volume (x)” model, I was apprehensive—for no good reason. Not only has Henderson made it clear that this is because Pain Processing is an EP, but it is abundantly clear that VCTMS aren’t stepping on the brakes—or changing lanes—in any sense of the term. They continue to push onward with a stunning blend of barbaric aggression, self-immolating introspection and catchy, creative musicianship and songwriting that builds on what VCTMS have already proven—that they are one of the last few bands left flying the flag of early-2000s Chicago metalcore, and they fly it damn proudly.
9.5/10
For Fans Of: Sworn In, Half Me, Yuth Forever, Kingmaker
By: Connor Welsh