The members of VADIAT read like an encyclopedia of Death Metal. While guitarist /vocalist Brian Sekula's mainstay was Cleveland's legendary Death/Thrashers TERROR, he was a touring member of MORTICIAN (96-97), and worked as a sound engineer for the likes of bands like Incantation, Nunslaughter, Morpheus Descends, and many others. VADIAT's founding counterpart, drummer Joe Twardizk, was a founding member of Cleveland's infamous BLOOD OF CHRIST. Second guitar player, Matt Sorg, spends time in a number of underground Cleveland acts, most notably Ringworm & Shed the Skin, and bassist extraordinare, Ed Stephens, another legend in the Cleveland scene who is a member of Beyond Fear, Shed the Skin, Vanik, Vindicator, and ex-Charred Walls of the Damned. The band's sound has been compared to a mix of the best parts of early Swedish, Finnish, British, and US Death Metal. Decibel Magazine summed up Spear of Creation well, writing, The band's sound is clearly rooted in doom-heavy bands like early Amorphis, Incantation and Immolation, along with a healthy dose of classic Bolt Thrower. For fans of classic, straightforward darkness, Vadiat delivers on everything you could want in a death metal band. Invisible Oranges add, There's a streak of doom in Vadiat's deathly orchestration, and it's spread like a mutation throughout their upcoming debut Spear of Creation. Rather than this being a one-way influence, i.e., simply applying death metal-isms at doom metal tempos, the Cleveland group (consisting of members of local standouts like Terror, Blood of Christ, Ringworm, and more) also colors their high-speed lethality with melodic and rhythmic cues from doom and heavy metal. It's a refreshingly flexible approach to the hybrid genre, and one that leads to some killer moments as the band unites twisted melodies, lurching rhythms, and, of course, growls, with a madman's disdain for conformity.
