Every now and then when I tripped up on a true Speed Metal band, most of the times I liked it quite a lot. When I came to know the likes of the Chilean VASTATOR, I have to say that I was a bit puzzled about it. On one hand, they have been speeding their way in the Metal world since 1986 and still going strong under the influence of mid 80s North American Metal. On the other hand, it was hard for me to really like what they have done on their new album, "Machine Hell", delivered under their French label, Inferno Records.

Although I didn't think that "Machine Hell" is a such a good release, I will let you know what potential these veterans have. First of all VASTATOR have a one raw vocalist that bears the nickname Rob Diaz. I like his voice pattern, on several areas he reminded me of a highly crooked Bruce Dickinson, yet, most of the time he was like a mixture of James Rivera and Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin as he presented a screechy voice yet with some manner of depth to it. However, I would have given up on those singing in high pitch attempts that sound like a too raw version of Ian Gillian's screamers of the 70s, those of Diaz weren't that appealing.

As for their music, it's essentially old school American Speed / Heavy Metal under the basis of NWOBHM. Listening to "Machine Hell" is like listening to HELSTAR, without the technicalities and with further reminders of Thrash on the way. In their way, VASTATOR battled their way into creating several tunes that clearly showed that no one would miss them. From my end, I liked some of their tunes, in particular their opening speedster, "Machine Hell" that came to the likes of a classic Speed Metal track. Nevertheless, there were some banalities that should had been avoided.

It seemed that VASTATOR didn't go out of their way to write additional riffs for their tracks in order to be a little bit diverse. Old school or not, simplicity or not, even 80s Metal bands used tried to make an effort to be something more than plain. Even so, that factor didn't stop the band's guitarist, Felipe Hernandez to break the chains with explosive solos to crack some ribs open.

Last but not least is the band's production on the album engineered by Cristian Pavez and the band. To say it briefly, I don't think that Pavez and crew gave their whole to make this album sound a little bit better. Positively, the sound of the old school took a rather good shape. However, it was hard for me to like the overall mix, especially the toms of the drum set, what was the sound all about? In the bottom, "Machine Hell"'s production is fine, yet, I think it insulted the band in some manner.

VASTATOR came back with an album after three years with the message of old school Speed Metal. They brought over special guests as Metal Mike Chlasciak (HALFORD) and the lovely Veronica Freeman (BENEDICTUM) to put some additional flavor. Furthermore, there were some high potential tracks as "The Gods Give No Reply", "Hawker Hunter", "Combustible en la Sangre" and "El Ultimo Grito en el Infierno". However, I think that even with their experience, I would have expected something way better than this.