Review: “In a Violent Nature” by Vanta NC

Hailing from Raleigh North Carolina, Deathcore quintet Vanta NC have been using “919 ignorance” and “Blue Collar Deathcore” as their call signs since their 2024 inception. Debut EP “VantaBlack” paved the way for the band to rattle a few cages while sharing stages with everyone from God Of Nothing to Weeping Wound and Chained to Internal Fixation.  Recorded and engineered in house by guitarist Drew Greene, sophomore EP “In a Violent Nature” once again finds them joined by a guest with the rhythm section of bassist Rob Volkov and drummer Chris Winterholler standing beside guitarist Conrad Crounse, vocalist Dylan Barham and the aforementioned Greene.

The Vanta NC engine roars like a Dodge Charger for the opening seventy seven second burst of violence that is “Stabbed” with deep Deathcore grooves and pounding mid-tempo percussion creating a sinister and menacing piece that feels like warning shot. Increasing the intensity with some bursting drum fills and buzzsaw riffs, title track “In A Violent Nature” bludgeons to death like a homeless man armed with a brick who’s gone feral. Well executed tempo shifts keep you on the edge of your seat, the powerful rhythmic battery simple but lethally effective. A classic sample from The Sopranos in “You ever feel like nothin’ good was ever gonna happen to you? Yeah. And nothin’ did. So what? I’m alive, I’m survivin’. That’s it. I don’t wanna just survive.” offers a moments respite before the punishment beating of “Lament” comes in swinging. Another blunt force trauma of a track, it has a decent blend of heavy hitting chord progressions that flirt with both Beatdown and Downtempo sub-genres of Deathcore while making great use of Dylan Barham’s vocal range. His shriller style bark has been layered against some death growl style moments to give the vocal performances more zing before the knife rises and the combinations are very much the work of a bare knuckle boxing champion.

The brutal “Trapped” continues the narrative with the kind of churning guitar work that commands mosh pit violence. You had better have your dancing shoes on because this is the push that makes you want to move with a couple of two step bridge moments thrown in like a hand grenade. While its all going off Barham is spitting blood, his throat splitting performances an essential part of what makes this band tick. “Stendo” features a guest vocal appearance by Heath Thompson of Discoveries and hammers the nails into the coffins of the naysayers with another high quality incendiary scorcher. The two vocalists going toe to toe gives this one another dimension, the bar room piano sample that finishes it making it feel like you’ve survived a bar fight as it fades our with your ears ringing. A cover of the Suicide Silence classic “Disengage” was recorded in the sessions and is available on some but not all streaming platforms. It’s not necessarily an obvious choice for Vanta NC to take on, the lead guitar work on it not something they use in their original material as a starting point but it works incredibly well. Barham harnesses his inner Mitch Lucker while the rest of the band nail their parts, the song itself benefiting from modern production values some 16 long years after the original [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Stabbed
2. In A Violent Nature
3. Lament
4. Trapped
5. Stendo (ft. Heath Thompson of Discoveries)
6. Disengage (Suicide Silence cover)

“In a Violent Nature” by Vanta NC is out 16th October 2025