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September 7, 2008 |
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01. Primal Massacre
02. Gore Apocalypse
03. Stray Bullet Kill
04. Epidemic (Created To Kill)
05. Demon's Divine
06. Autopsy Extravaganza
07. Retaliation
08. Condemned By Pride
09. Cursed Revelations
10. Chainsaw Surgery
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Well VOMITORY are back! Now what...Two...Three albums into their career??? I honestly couldn't tell you, as keeping up with the increasingly almost comical surplus of bands exploding from out of the various Metal subgenres of late is becoming almost impossible. But whatever. Feast is always preferable to famine.
That said, these Swedes (Erik Rundqvist on vocals/bass, Urban Gustafsson on guitar, Ulf Dalegren on guitar, and Tobias Gustafsson on drums) are one of several bands that have managed to slip under my personal sonic radar over the years. I fear my wallet just isn't deep enough to sample all of what's available nowadays! Furthermore, I'll be honest; I'm not the world's biggest fan of the patented downtuned Death/Grind gurgle anyway although I do certainly appreciate some select bands from the genre. So, satisfied with the output of faves like CANNIBAL CORPSE, NILE, CRYPTOPSY, DISMEMBER, VADER, DECAPITATED and others, I never found my interest piqued enough to give many of the more lower profile acts a chance. My loss. Because although it doesn't exactly reinvent the proverbial wheel as they say, VOMITORY's 'Primal Massacre' is definitely a solid and enjoyable chunk o' corpsemeat indeed!
Musically, to be perfectly blunt there's not much - as previously stated - in terms of jaw-droppingly innovative technicality or originality, okay? I mean, you know these are just a bunch of guys who strapped on their instruments and learned how to bash it out on their own. There ain't no diplomas from Juilliard here! And hey...So what!?! There's no need for all of that within this sort of music. That's not what makes the Death Metal beast roar! Fact is, this is some really good, meat n' potatoes full-on, in-your-face Death Metal with juuussst enough hints of melody in the leadwork to make you think "Damn...These guys remind me a lot of DISMEMBER!” And if that's not a flattering comparison, I don't know what is.
Riffs are rock solid, beer-soaked, and scraped up fresh off the barroom floor. Overall song construct is to-the-point and effective without becoming overwrought. Stringsmen Gustafsson and Dalegren work well off of each other to create a classic, almost retro-early 90's sound. Vocalist Rundqvist can belt it out as well as any I've heard and holds up a solid bassline to boot. Second Gustafsson keeps the battery thundering throughout. It's funny, I was not expecting to like this, but actually ended up standing in my living room banging my head along to some of the better tracks including the opening triple salvo of the title track, 'Gore Apocalypse', and 'Stray Bullet Kill', and later 'Retaliation', and of course, closer 'Chainsaw Surgery'. Something tells me these guys' energy would translate even better in a live scenario.
They would make a decent opening band for a more established act. I tell ya, this is a good disc to throw on at around Beer #3, when one's alcohol level is at it’s peak ability to inspire the sort of headbanging, fist-pumping lunacy that usually causes any women present to leave the room. Despite my general enjoyment of the proceedings however, I'm still gonna knock off two or three points for the simple fact that - as competent as they are - the band have yet to put something together which will truly elevate them heads and shoulders above the rest of the pack. Even this release - which I like - is comparable to about a good half dozen or so other discs sitting right infront of me as I type this on my CD rack. In other words, if they're comfortable where they are, then hey...more power to them. They're doing a good enough job.
If they wish to grow as artists though, they must transcend the limits they have currently set for themselves. At this point, VOMITORY are running the risk of painting themselves into a corner inhabited solely by others of their ilk. Meanwhile a wider Metal world awaits, all too eager to be impressed into coming back album after album for a revisit. Right now, this is simply one of many 'good' Death Metal bands. They do not yet, in my humble opinion, aspire to being 'great'. As a result, unless you're a true diehard devotee of all things Death Metal, just owning this one release from VOMITORY is really all you need.
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