I have to be honest: I did not know the name VASTATOR. Nor did I even know that there was a metal scene in Chile. Founded in 1986 by Nelson (A.K.A. Rob Diaz) D'Aldunce, Sergio Bustamante, and Gerardo Barrenechea, VASTATOR gained quite a lot of popularity, but just after their second demo, all the band members started their solo projects and only in 1998 did they release their first official album ("Guia Para Odiar a tu Projimo").

"Gentlemen's club" is their latest album, released under Inferno Records, and shows a band and a sound without any compromise, taking inspiration from the speed-thrash band of the nineties. Nine killer tracks, no frills: that's the description for the sound of VASTATOR. A lot of influences come from band like OVERKILL, but there are a couple of easier episodes that are coming from the Classic Rock (the cover "Rock you to hell") or Folk Metal tradition ("Night and day").

The sinister intro "Diabolique" is the instrumental opener track of this "Gentlemen's club". "Meridian" mixes the same dark and sinister atmosphere of the intro with more aggressive parts. As said in the first part of the review, the sound reminds a lot of OVERKILL, both from the instrumental point of view as well as how the vocals are constructed. The following "PSW" and "Midnight train" reveal fully the sound of VASTATOR: a solid Thrash / Speed metal, inspired by the nineties' sound, where the voice of Rob Diaz is main star.

"The horde" slows down a little, with a heavy mid-tempo, before the Folky "Night and day". "All 4 one" gets back to the typical VASTATOR sound, which uses the powerful voice of Rob Diaz a lot (it also reminds me a lot the use of Ron Rinehart's voice in DARK ANGEL), but in this case I would mention a brilliant solo and in general great guitar work.

"Rock you to hell" (a cover from the British GRIM REAPER) closes the album in quite an unusual way, with a song that I could define as Rock, where Rob Diaz is not really comfortable. But the catchy chorus is decent, although, as said, this song does not really fit the album theme, and looks, at least to some degree, like a curious choice for a cover.

Finally, a decent album, some good ideas, but unfortunately nothing more than that.