If slam had heroes, for a while, Vulvodynia would have been one of them. While the band probably got some extra attention through BangerTV‘s international metal feature about South African slam, Vulvodynia had built a solid following and reputation even before that, proving that slam could be a gateway for bands from second-world nations and that brutish, hardcore-inspired violence could be a tool for self-actualization. In hindsight, not all of their material is totally mind-blowing — their breakout album Psychosadistic Design in particular is probably a tad too long for what they serve up — but a good story can be enough to elevate a band from a niche genre to legend status sometimes. 2019’s Mob Justice saw Vulvodynia push into a direction rooted more firmly in the brutal death metal realm and garner additional acclaim. And afterward, the band released a sadly horrendous outing in Praenuntius Infiniti, which in hindsight is likely the result of a crumbling band relationship. Singer Duncan Bentley allegedly tried to murder the band’s drummer and has at least shown violent tendencies towards him, leading him to be kicked out. Entabeni is the band’s first album without him, seeing previous guitarist Lwandile Prusent filling out the lead vocal role, a change in personnel that shows in more than one way.
Prusent, plainly, is a competent vocalist. His style favors shrieks over growls, piggies, and tunnels, leading to an overall brighter vocal performance. This positions him in perfect stylistic opposition to Bentley, whose intense, hardcore-inspired mannerisms pierced through almost all of his vocal acrobatics. Bentley is, frankly, a better vocalist, showcasing a broader range, better phrasing, and, beyond that, personality. I won’t rag on Prusent as a vocalist too much, as I know that the change in personnel has to be motivated by a band healing from a tragedy and a complicated parting of ways with someone who, I assume, couldn’t have been an easy person to be around. But it is undeniable that Vulvodynia lost a structuring pillar to their style. Rather than fill these empty shoes with their vocalist, guitarist Kris Xenopoulous shows a new center. Xenopoulous has previously released modern shred material under his own name, stylistically landing somewhere between YouTube Guitar shredders, Polyphia, and the instrumental jazz metal of the 2010s. His solo material had frankly never quite moved me beyond an abstract appreciation for a guitarist that is clearly talented. Entabeni is similar to Xen’s solo material, were the stylistic quirks translated to a slamming deathcore context. Riffs often involve extended techniques and shift between them frequently, never settling into one of the barbaric grooves that material like this needs so dearly. At the same time, there is an increase in guitar solos. Those, again, Xenopoulous constructs well, showing a guitarist curious about the expressiveness of musical scales beyond simple fretboard wankery. But they simply interrupt and bloat the material, becoming an indulgence that makes me dread the solos whenever they appear. Doubling down on this frustration, the lead guitar tone that feels unfitting, yet again inspired by the modern wave of instrumental shred bands with how weirdly clean and twangy it is.
Personnel changes can affect a band, even in a genre like slam where, in theory, you only need to serve up heavy chromatic riffs and you’re good to go. Inspiration can’t always be described, as the chemistry of a band is something that is intangible at best. But, just like with pornography, I know it when I see it. And this ain’t it.
