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Vomitory - Redemption
1999 Pavement Music
by Shev
Quick Summary:
This being Vomitory's sophomore release, it's quite simple to see how
much they have progressed since their debut full length, "Raped In
Their Own Blood", originally released back in 1996. Since
their inception back in 1989, it's evident that Vomitory might know a
thing or two about Swedish death metal, and apparently they're not afraid of
growth. You will not find any keyboards, female vocals, sound clips,
or clean sung breaks here. This is 100% Swedish death, and although
this doesn't exactly bring anything new to the table, Vomitory has
the knack of taking a sound that hundreds of bands play and being one of the
best at it. Redemption
marks the arrival of Finnish vocalist, Jussi Linna, who does a corporeal job
with the death metal grunts and growls as he stands in the big shoes once
filled by Ronnie Olson, who left Vomitory to concentrate on Gehennah.
Another key member to debut with this quintet is the deific Erik Rundqvist
on bass, replacing Thomas Bergqvist. With death metal of this style,
the bass isn't exactly a focus point for the music, however Erik does a
fantastic job regardless. Evening out this onslaught are dual
guitarists Ulf Dalegren and Urban Gustafsson which produce tight, sharp, and
complex riffs and leads with seemingly effortless ease, and drummer Tobias
Gustafsson who isn't afraid of pumping out anything from a blast beat to a
thrashy fill. Overall, Vomitory are not strangers to creating
quality death metal, and fans of the straight-forward and brutal approach
will certainly not be let down with Redemption.
Website: www.vomitory.net |
Track
Listing:
1. The Voyage
2. Forty Seconds Bloodbath
3. Forever In Gloom
4. Heaps Of Blood
5. Embraced By Pain
6. Redemption
7. Ashes Of Mourning Life
8. Partly Dead |
Line-Up:
Vocals: Jussi
Linna
Guitars: Ulf Dalegren, Urban Gustafsson
Bass: Erik Rundqvist
Drums: Tobias Gustafsson
Lead Guitar on "Ashes Of Mourning Life":
Jan-Tryggve Axelsson |
Song Summaries:
- The Voyage - Just over five
minutes of relentless death metal alternating between expeditious
blast beat/drum-filled aggression, catchy riff-driven fury, and
mid/slow tempo muck. A-
- Forty Seconds Bloodbath - A more
intense, straight-forward, and raking effort. Be sure to listen
to the most excellent Ghosts & Goblins influenced guitar
solo from 2:29 - 2:51. B+
- Forever In Gloom - Short little
death metal number marked with tight riff-driven indignation and
peppered with minimalistic blast beat breaks. Really stands out,
even if the name of the song is one of the most retarded things I've
ever heard. A
- Heaps Of Blood - At a little
under five minutes long, this is mostly uninspired death metal with
only two positive points going for it: vocals and the fast
closing. D+
- Embraced By Pain - The strong use
of bass and drums on top of the fact it follows up "Heaps Of
Blood" makes this one seem like pure gold. I could do
without the dawdling portions and simplistic high-pitched guitars
which I assume is supposed to add "atmosphere", but in
reality just sounds amateurish. B+
- Redemption - Very nice hasty
tune, but the name of the game here is drumming. A very slow
part is quickly thrown off to the side in the beginning to make way
for pure, unadulterated adrenaline. B+
- Ashes Of Mourning Life -
Surprising break from the standard Vomitory material in the
form of a God Macabre cover. Instead of creating energy
through speed, they use powerful and complex guitars, throwing in a
bit of groove for good measure. A
- Partly Dead - Three quarters
death metal, one quarter thrash. Couldn't have finished the
album with a better song. A
Average Track Rating: B+
Overall Album Rating: A-
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