Today's astute metal listener is very likely aware of a growing divide in the metal community being played out on the rosters of record labels and on the stages of sweaty venues the world over. On one side are bands who embrace a modern and wholly contemporary approach to their music and on the other are the stalwart factions of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". With their third album, The Escalation, these Aussies have firmly dug in their heels and served notice that for them it's old school or no school. Vomitor harken back to a time when death metal was a nascent, unspoiled thing and still reeked heavily from the vestiges of South American and Teutonic primordial violence that helped spawn it. Hyperspeed blast beats, guttural vocals and sweeping arpeggios had not yet entered the death metal musical lexicon and were still several years in the future.
The Escalation isn't terribly different from its 2010 predecessor Devil's Poison, an album which itself wasn't miles away from their debut Bleeding the Priest. Rob "Death Dealer" Curry's distinct guitar tone and unhinged approach to riffs / soloing are fully intact on this outing and continue to serve as the focal point and foundation of the band's sound. Even the addition of second guitarist Horror Illogium from fellow Australian madmen Portal does little to alter the raw death thrashing carnage on display as his presence is mostly noted in the slight variation of wild 'n wooly solos that populate every song.
Despite the strong air of similarity to their prior works The Escalation is still very much a vibrant and forceful affair and never gives a sense of stagnation or laziness creeping into the songwriting. Vomitor have always all about the riffs and in that department the well shows no sign of running dry. As an example check out the epic once-and-done riff that shows itself only in the last thirty seconds of the title track and vanishes just as quickly. A lesser band might seek to get a little more mileage from such a great riff but Vomitor have plenty more where that came from and don't let it overstay its welcome.
Elsewhere on The Escalation the focus on purist death metal intensity is equally as strong as evidenced on the slow burn dirge of "Hellburst to Fight" or the headbang inducing martial drive of "Salem Witches Grave". Vomitor aren't looking to rewrite the heavy metal rulebook and their diehard commitment to a very specific type of death metal marks The Escalation as an album that won't have universal appeal to those craving more contemporary brutal sounds. Yet for those with an ear for the ruckus drummed up by fellow noisemongers Nifelheim, Bestial Mockery or Gospel of the Horns will find this latest Vomitor release worthy of your time.
Track Listing
1. Pits Of Nightmare/Pitch Black
2. Prayer To Hell
3. Salem Witches Grave
4. Hellburst To Fight
5. The Escalation
6. Metal Or Die
7. Horrors Of Black Earth
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