VADIAT is a Death/Doom band formed in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, this year. "Darkness Proceeds" is the band's debut EP, and contains four tracks. The title track opens the album, with tortured wails in the background, wind and bells, setting the stage for the main riff, which comes in with some weight and ominous power. The vocals are ridiculously low and growly, and this is definitely a Death/Doom sound. "Quarter Moon Chaos" is the second offering. It moved with the weight and strength of a wooly mammoth, wandering the frozen tundra filled with ice and snow. They vary the riff a bit here but it maintains that BLACK SABBATH feeling throughout.

"The Entity" opens with a faster moving sound and a repeated vocal and riff pattern. It gets a bit old after a while as they really drive it home. It takes an ambient turn around the half-way mark, with a clean guitar passage that is hypnotic. Thunder claps in the background and another riff makes an appearance. The second riff is dirty and gritty. "Unearthed" closes the album, with a speedy riff and some fast-moving drums. The main riff echoes, creating an entirely different sound than on some of the previous tracks. The vocals are guttural utterances that you cannot make out. The song builds a little with some layers towards the end, heaping on even more despair and hopelessness.

Overall, through four tracks, VADIAT laid down some really great stuff here. The vocals are ultra-deep and perfect for the music, which is despondent and full of all those unwanted emotions, like anger, hate, despair and sadness. The ode to their roots comes through just fine, but they also put on a modern flair by dialing up these emotions so that the songs slowly begin to choke the life out of you. The production is just as it should be...gritty but clear, to really let those riffs do the talking. Well done, lads, well done.