Vultures Vengeance – Dust Age Review

[Cover artwork by Lena Richter]

Just last month I offered up Dust Age as one of my most anticipated albums of 2025, owed largely to the fact that the prior Vultures Vengeance album, The Knightlore, managed to gradually work its way up the mountainous heap of 2019 releases all the way to my two-spot, bested only by the equally excellent debut from Sweden’s Dimhav.

This puts me in a curious position, though, because now, with about a dozen listens under my belt, I am inclined to already concede that full-length number two from these fully leathered Italians eclipses their previous effort in ways that make me wonder… Am I now done for the year? Is this it? Close out 2025 and let any and all other players shoot for door prizes? Shuffle off and spend the remaining months listening to Paco de Lucía and D&D podcasts? It’s February, for hell’s sake.

Okay, so part of The Knightlore’s charm was rooted in the fact that I was new to the band in 2019. That’s obviously only a small piece of the puzzle, though, eclipsed rather mightily by the album’s unique footprint, both with regard to the rest of the year’s releases and inside its own specific trad metal boundaries. Suffice to say, The Knightlore stuck with me because of its distinctiveness, so Dust Age has a little more work to do in order to fully out-charm what landed prior. However, I will admit right off the bat that this record is setting a rather high benchmark when stacked next to an already strong start in the ‘classic metal’ forum for 2025 that includes releases such as Century’s excellent Sign of the Storm, Iron Griffin’s wobbly little Gate Tower EP, Sacred’s notably fine Fire to Ice debut, and Morax’s The Amulet (also dropping at the end of the month). In short, there’s stiff competition afoot.

So, what is it that V.V. has working to their advantage? As I see it, there are two principal windfalls: 1) Despite the fact that the band plays a style of metal that’s clearly indebted as balls to the forebears of the ‘80s, theirs is an approach that still manages to feel… unusual amidst an endless sea of contenders. And 2) You would be hard-pressed to find a more melodically minded endeavor striving for your attention right now in this particular off-shoot of metal.

To that first point, maybe it’s best to reach back one month to revisit a couple things stated in that anticipation piece, most of which is centered around the truth that heavy metal’s certainly no stranger to the trusty ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ axiom.

“…what would throw those finicky fans of olde, just as it might throw the more critical of today’s elite, when it comes to getting down with the Double V? Pretty much the same old story: Tony T. Steele has a… unique voice (think Tim Baker colliding with Eric Wagner, then put him in the midst of battle with a full suit of armor), plus the band opts for production choices that, while crystal clear, sound every bit as dusty as the off-kilter bands that likely influenced the Vultures Vengeance trajectory.“

Point of fact: Unique voices in metal have been offering up curious threshold points pretty much since day one, and as I also mentioned in that most anticipated albums piece from January, those of us who opted to reap the benefits of other metal fans’ fussiness in that regard throughout the ‘80s were often lead to very genuine and loud connections with bands such as Cirith Ungol, Wayne-era Metal Church, Trouble, and even deeper into the underground for oddballs like Genocide Nippon and Lords of the Crimson Alliance. That, my friends, is the Vultures Vengeance nerve center: A place where minstrels that may or may not have occult connections to the reptilians, banshees or umpteen other cryptids rasp, wail and roar alongside dueling guitars, which, as it happens, adds immeasurably to the overall charm. Boom! Welcome to paradise.

Now, if you’re familiar with Vultures Vengeance and perhaps shared my enthusiasm for The Knightlore, then you’re obviously already accustomed to the band’s distinctive mannerisms and mostly wonder how Dust Age differs from its predecessor. The short answer is this: Dust Age sounds… fuller. The guitar work here occupies more space front to back, both in the riffing and soloing, and the production—while still draped in all that is ankient (solemn Tom G. Warrior bow)—fortifies the overall richness of those guitars. That is to say, where The Knightlore sounded as if it was cranked and echoing from outer space, Dust Age pushes a warmer and damn-near velvety sound that’s a little more approachable. So, think of it as a move from, say, the coldness of The Warning back to the warmth of the Queensrÿche EP and you’re halfway there.

Facilitating that movement even more, Dust Age additionally cedes a fragment of The Knightlore’s darkness in favor of a brighter, more aggressive stance, which suits the band particularly well. These are not radical shifts, mind you, but they become more and more clear as you familiarize yourself with the songs over time. The promo copy also draws a comparison to early Blind Guardian, which isn’t all that far off base, given the boldness of the riffing in the opening title track, and the way Steele comes across a bit like Hansi Kürsch in the midst of swinging a broadsword.

Melodic as the day is long, no? A song like “Dust Age” does a fine job of validating the second point mentioned above about being hard-pressed to find a more melodically minded trad metal band today. The duo of Tony T. Steele and Tony L.A. Scelzi is FORMIDABLE, without question, and as I also said in last month’s most anticipated piece, they’re like “the Rexor & Thorgrim of the current NWOTHM craze, and not even Crom himself would be immune to the charms these two cast with their respective axes.”

Unfortunately, that partnership is now a WAS, as Scelzi has apparently left the band—a rather concerning development moving forward, as far as I’m concerned. Still, it doesn’t seem very likely that Steele would fill the role with someone short on chops, but the fellow stepping in—yet another aptly named squire called “D.D. Fury”—has a mountain of homework to do before anything from Dust Age gets played live. Bottom line: Those who are happily charmed by fiery dual guitar leads will find plenty to love here, but if you still need further proof, enjoy the a slice of “Those Who Sold the Worlds,” a song that melts my brain a little more each time that stretch from 3:35 to 5:00 hits.

Of course, an album with an overall footprint like this isn’t exactly custom built for all parties, but what record is? The adventurous heroes out there who appreciate galloping heavy metal with loads of guitar sorcery will absolutely find suitable reward with Dust Age, though, as will existing fans and devotees of classics such as Omen, Manilla Road, Medieval Steel and Cirith Ungol. And as for how things might shake out over the next ten months? I refuse to give that another thought for at least six months. One thing I’m sure of as of today: Dust Age will be in the fight with all arms swinging when that time eventually comes.