Oakland, California’s ominous death metal faction VASTUM will embark on one of their most intense tours to date this Spring, on the Violations On The Cross US Tour 2025.
Between the sporadic but legendary live performances and a worshipped discography of modern era true death metal with five albums in twelve years all released through 20 Buck Spin, VASTUM has become a torchbearer of the grisly and grotesque underground, both within its native Bay Area and well beyond. The cavernous density that VASTUM has made a core element of its sound remains as inhuman as ever, continuing to delve into darker atmospheres; it’s always punishing and with a fearsome momentum. Along with founding members vocalist Daniel Butler and guitarist/vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf, the current lineup features drummer Adam Perry (heard on Patricidal Lust and Hole Below LPs), bassist Colin Tarvin (Mortuous, Evulse), and guitarist Greg Brace (Wild Hunt, ex-Dispirit).
VASTUM will play thirteen shows on the Violations On The Cross US Tour 2025, launching in Tacoma on March 27th and ending in Atlanta on April 11th. With support from Goetia on most of the shows, the tour will see VASTUM headlining Disemboweled God Fest 2025 with sets from Deteriorot, Impaled, and others, as well as their first time playing Decibel Magazine’s Metal & Beer Fest 2025 alongside Exodus, Dismember, Demolition Hammer, Pig Destroyer, Darkest Hour, and many more. These VASTUM performances will include live synths by Gregory C. Hagan. See the confirmed dates below.
VASTUM, the longest running band on the 20 Buck Spin roster, offers up its fifth bludgeoning document of psychic malaise and lost faith with Inward To Gethsemane. As before, the abject disgust unsparingly captured in VASTUM’s unique approach continues to drape the music with an aura of discomfiting unease. The cavernous density that VASTUM has made a core element of its discography remains as inhuman as ever, continuing to delve into darker atmospheres, yet never devolving into ambient murk; on the contrary it’s always punishing and with a fearsome momentum. The distinctively harrowing dual lyrical/vocal attack of Daniel Butler and Leila Abdul-Rauf appears throughout Inward To Gethsemane; the possessed narrators of the band’s hellish underworld.
Inward To Gethsemane was mixed and recorded by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios (Acephalix, Ulthar, Necrot), mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Obituary, Mournful Congregation, Creeping Death), with artwork once again by vocalist Daniel Butler, photography by Chris Johnston, and layout by Dan Fried. All who endure the hammering ways of Bolt Thrower, Undergang, Autopsy, Necrot, Phrenelith, Mortuous, Coffins, Dead Congregation, Grave, and Demigod, do not miss VASTUM’s Inward To Gethsemane.
Endure VASTUM’s suffocating Inward To Gethsemane everywhere including YouTube RIGHT HERE, and find the record on LP, CD, MC, and digital at the 20 Buck Spin webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE
“VASTUM are just so mean, so dark, so human. Animated by our own most base impulse – carnal and otherwise – then driven to explore the philosophical implications thereof, they’re wired a little different, plugged into an old-school sensibility, but with an ugly sound that never existed in any timeline. They’ve scarcely sounded uglier. 9/10” – Decibel Magazine
“…VASTUM give it the gas right away, surging ahead like a hellish tank-phalanx, with all corroded pistons firing, guns blazing white phosphorus, and drums inflicting a merciless beating, while Dan Butler savagely roars and Leila Abdul-Rauf maniacally screams… I can think of many places where I’d like to point this demolition machine and let it run riot and ruin what’s in front of it.” – No Clean Singing
“…ambient, noisy elements to take the record into new, dark directions and plumb the depths. Daniel Butler and Leila Abdul-Rauf keep their joint vocal attacks alive on this album, calling forth the depths of hell… every instrument and vocal line feels super intentional, and everything from the lyrics to the titles to the art creates a definite vibe. 4.5/5” – MetalSucks
“VASTUM’s grimmest record to date… Inward To Gethsemane, an allusion to the garden where Jesus supposedly wept after realizing his fate, is blood-curdling — the album is an exploration of ‘the limits of purity,’ and its seven tracks ricochet between anguish and disgust.” – Invisible Oranges
“A VASTUM record never is an easy experience for the uninhibited, and even if you’ve been along for the entire five-album ride, their psychologically damaged death metal still finds ways to create new mental wounds. Inward to Gethsemane is a penetrating experience, another sojourn into the worst, most warped forces in this world, compounding your suffering with the band’s uneasy approach to death metal that can leave you heaving in pain.” – Meat Mead Metal
“To boil it down, VASTUM has done it again, unleashing a visceral and challenging album on the world. What I know for sure is that this album will make my list of top releases in 2023.” – Echoes And Dust
