One quick glance at the cover of the full-length CD debut from Sweden's Vicious and you would think this band had a fascination with professional wrestling, but this baby's all about technical death metal. The band has been around close to five years, after after releasing a few demos have signed on with Sound Riot Records for Vile, Vicious & Victorious, a pummeling collection of nine brutal tracks of lethal death metal. These tunes are fast and furious, containing plenty of technical thrash guitar riffs and evil vocal screams. Songs like "High on Fire" and "Deadicate" contain some mean riffs and tasty lead guitar work, but after a few listens it becomes apparent that there's not much originality going on here, and many of the songs have a similar feel to them, leaving it hard to distinguish one tune from another. The band works best on a slower, grinding doom track like "Boots of Led", complete with neat harmony guitars, stampeding riffs, and a tight plodding rhythm. Also, singer Henrik Wenngren could use a little variety in his arsenal, as his throaty growl tends to stay at the same level each song.
Vile, Vicious & Victorious is serviceable thrashy death metal, with some very good dual guitar work, but these guys have a way to go before they can play with the heavyweights of the genre. If you have to consume as much metal as possible, this CD is worth a listen.
Track Listing
1) Beast
2) Trigger Needs Some Action
3) High On Fire
4) Deadicate
5) Life Corrupted
6) Deathrash
7) Boots Of Led
8) A Vicious Mind
9) The Feeder of Evil
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