Switzerland’s VOMITHEIST craft a brand of extreme metal that is completely at odds with their home nation’s preponderance for more experimental and avant-garde takes on the genre. This definitely isn’t a criticism of the Frauenfeld-based trio, as their thick and visceral take on old school death metal is an incredibly powerful and punchy one. Taking many of their musical cues from the early 90s Swedish scene, the band are able to create a brilliantly dense and gory form of a style that’s by now so familiar. For evidence of this, look no further than their debut album, NekroFvneral, a record that brings together death, doom and punk into a noxious blend of caustic and sepulchral intensity that’s very hard not to immediately love.
Strangled By Entrails kicks things off in a punchy fashion, with tight punk drumming and grating guitars building a powerful, sludgy sound. It’s a domineering monolith, with coarse vocals, a dirty tone and murky production lending this a classic feel that’s hard not to get drawn in by. Epidemic Disembowelment shifts to brooding death-doom, with huge rhythms, slick leads and a steadier beat making for a catchier offering with a sombre edge. The frenetic moments that are peppered throughout add a fiercer element, but this is mostly a slower, bleaker offering. Horrific Bloodshed, another punk-inflected death metal track with great, groove-laden guitar work and acerbic vocals, serves as yet another energetic and imaginative slab of old school death metal. Morbid Decomposition, with its thick, chugging hooks, weighty bass and visceral vocal deliveries, is another solid juggernaut, although its approach to riffs is more spartan, allowing the meaty rhythms to carry much of the music.
Putrefaktor follows in a similar vein, with the guitar sound being centred around huge chords, and the vocals and authoritative drumming being the focus at various points, with the end result possessing a muscular and aggressive feel. Symbiotic Putrefaction proves to be a chaotic and belligerent affair, with razor sharp guitars, punishing percussion and rumbling bass lines all creating a dark and unhinged sound as bellowing vocals further contribute to the emotive heft to make this song one of the album’s best. Chapel Of Abhorrent Reek And Festering Slime, a brief, ambience-driven segue, perfectly sets up the following track, Tormenting Fungal Infestation, a song that reverts to the monstrous, swaggering rhythmic style of earlier tracks, making a little room for disjointed leads, but very much remaining focused upon its crushing undercurrent.
Gut Asphyxiation, another rabid and blistering offering built around angular guitars, intricate drum work and bestial vocals, along with a few well placed bass interludes, is another album high point, with the musicianship and songwriting surpassing all but a couple of other tracks, lurching from full throttle death metal through to ponderous, doomier passages in a combination that works extremely well. NekroFvneral serves as another brief burst of brutality that sets the listener up for this album’s final, sprawling track, Carnivorous Cult; this is a slower burning offering, with cavernous, primal drums laying the foundations for the haunting guitar hooks and throaty vocals, at various points incorporating the numerous influences that have come into play earlier on the album, from primitive punk hooks, to sombre death-doom, to old school death metal, and thereby ensuring this lengthy and expansive piece of music doesn’t become stale.
Even though NekroFvneral, and in particular its sound, is far from original in its approach, this is an incredibly impressive debut album. It has the sort of gnawing, sludgy guitar tone and dirty production that served the likes of ENTOMBED, CARNAGE and DISMEMBER, and although this particular musical trope has been done to death within the death metal scene in recent years, it works extremely well here, complementing the dense, rhythmic approach of the music, and the harsh, hoarse quality of the vocals perfectly. It’s certainly an album built around its rhythms, and it would have been good to see more adventurous lead guitars at some points, but it’s hard to find fault with any of the songs that feature here. With NekroFvneral, VOMITHEIST have prepared some very solid foundations for their future music to be built on, and hopefully whatever the band does next will be at least as impressive as this album.
Rating: 8/10
