Formed all the way back in 1989, there is no doubt that Vomitory have had a huge impact on the death metal scene in Sweden, releasing eight albums between 1996 and 2011 before breaking up in 2013, then returning and releasing a new album 10 years later. The band has been incredibly stable, with drummer Tobias Gustafsson and guitarist Urban Gustafsson having been there since the very beginning and bassist/vocalist Erik Rundqvist having been there since 1997. However, I note that long-time lead guitarist Peter Östlund officially left last year and has been replaced by Christian Fredriksson (Inferior, ex-Mordbrand, ex-Slaughterous, Vulkan, ex-Reincarnage), who was involved with the last album and had been working as a live guitarist.
Their second album since they reformed, their tenth overall, the band are still in your face and refusing to give one inch as they hit hard with brutal death metal which is also melodic and annoyingly catchy! One can tell they have been out on the road a great deal as Christian is locked in as if he has always been there, not an easy task when he is joining a unit where the other three have been slaving away together for nearly 30 years. One strange aspect of this album is just how light it seems at times, and we even get Maiden-esque harmonies in places, as there is a great deal of contrast between different sections, often within the same song . This provides drama and interest throughout, and the death metal growls are always there, even if the accompaniment does sometimes move away from pure death metal. Nice and solid, this is an album which really does need to be played at high volume to be fully appreciated. 8/10
By Kev Rowland
