Vanishment And Now We Die Review
Vanishment
And Now We Die
M Theory Audio
2026
The early 90’s was an interesting time for metal. Full-on thrash was becoming boring, glam was gasping its last breaths, and death and black metal were pushing extremities’ boundaries. There had to be some stylistic hopping around if new bands wanted to stay apart from subgenre tropes. Specifically, bands kept cropping up that flirted with thrash and healthy doses of power metal and classic metal. By now you’ve heard some of them, I’m sure. Helloween, Sanctuary, Powermad, and Iced Earth gave way to Blind Guardian, Hammerfall, Jag Panzer, Angel Dust, Nevermore, etc. With the genre already at max capacity, it’s increasingly difficult today for bands employing the sounds mentioned here to stand out or bring something new to the table. Vanishment, a quintet from Seattle, may have something to say about that with their second effort here, the blistering And Now We Die.
Vanishment began in 2019, “taking inspiration from classic thrash and heavy metal bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, and Judas Priest,” and released their debut No More Torture in 2023. Critical praise, West Coast live dates, and writing followed and has brought us to these ten songs. Sonically, the album has a modern feel to the production yet sounds surprisingly organic and devoid of over-polishing every note and quantization. The drums sound real, the guitars crunch with real amp tones, the bass pulses out low end, and the vocals soar with conviction and purpose without the aid of any auto-tune or heavy processing. You know what I mean, right? How metal of this caliber USED to sound. Kudos to the job by Nicholas Wilbur (Sumac, Mamiffer) at Anacortes Unknown and mastering by Alan Douches (Three Inches of Blood, Baroness, Darkest Hour). These considerations are quite literally music to my ears.
In this record’s running time (just shy of 47 minutes), Vanishment have constructed songs that are equal parts thrash syncopation and speed (opener “Scarred By Fate”), fist-pumping true metal anthem (“How I Bleed”), and harmonized guitar power/speed metal gallop (“Unleash The Storm”). The individual performances of guitarists Brian Johnson and Jeremy McAllister anchor things with razor-sharp riffs, excellent lead work, harmonized interplay, and a keen sense of melody. A true highlight is the intro of “Conviction,” which showcases their tandem abilities, along with its earworm chorus and the ultra-heavy breakdown part (complete with tapping and whammy bar dives!). I must mention the drumming of Chris Wozniak here too, as he grooves, d-beats, and tastefully fills his way through every song with fleet-footed double kicks. The slightly overdriven and trebly bass of Nate Baker is audible and, in the pocket, and the coup de grâce must be the very capable vocals of Rob Ropkins. Rob has “THAT tone” to his voice. What I mean is he has the soaring highs, the grit, and the raspiness coupled with melodic soul and purpose behind every note he sings. Far be it for me to draw comparisons here, but he sounds like Eric AK (Flotsam and Jetsam) and the forever-missed Warrell Dane (Sanctuary, Nevermore) are having a fistfight in the best of ways. He knows his way around some epic battles and sword-and-sorcery storytelling lyrically, too.
By the time this album wrapped up, I felt I had heard something nostalgically familiar. I am also left feeling that not enough bands combine these varied influences, much less so seamlessly and sounding like a breath of fresh air. In a musical landscape where the old guard are either calling it a day or will be in the coming years, the mantle is up for grabs. Vanishment could very well sit atop that mountain if they keep churning out high-quality music such as this. And Now We Die is a finely crafted, steel-bearing long player that is brutal, melodic, and as “true metal” as it gets in 2026…
-TB
RIYL: Flotsam and Jetsam, Sanctuary, Nevermore, Megadeth, Metallica, Helloween.