VOMITORY

Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize

Metal Blade (2007)

by Sully Paytonnes

It's a crying shame that Tipper Gore and her God-fearing, clean-living and censorship-loving minions of the PMRC aren't around today because they would absolutely have a field day with the new slab of death metal laid down by VOMITORY.  It's title alone, Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize (Metal Blade), would have Tipper hyperventilating in front of a Congressional committee.  More than likely, she'd find a way to put 5 out of the 10 songs on the infamous Filthy Fifteen.  I suspect her reading of the lyrical content of a song like "Scavenging the Slaughtered" would make her discussion about Prince's "Darling Nikki" back in the day pale in comparison.  I would pay money to see this happen and to see Dee Snider sitting in the background laughing his ass off. 

But is the sixth offering from VOMITORY worth spending your money on?  Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize is not going to break any new ground in the death metal arena, and quite frankly, there isn't much new ground to break here.  However, this is some of the tightest death metal these Swedes have put out.  Falling somewhere between Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death in sound, VOMITORY pummel you from the outset with the blast beat fury of "Eternal Trail of Corpses" and don't let you breathe until the (literally) bloody end.   The standout tracks are those that bring a little more creativity to the usual carnage.  "Defiled and Inferior" starts off in typical death fashion but a minute or so into the song, the band break into a wicked neck snapping and hair whipping groove of clean riffs and (gasp) a thrashy guitar solo.  "March Into Oblivion" sounds like one of the heaviest punk songs ever written with a galloping bass riff pushing the band on.  The outstanding knob twiddling of Rikard Lofgren pushes this record ahead of this year's death metal pack.  Every instrument gets its due and the vocals are tightly mixed in. 

With VOMITORY's Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize you can pretty much figure that this isn't going to be a disc packed with Pat Boone-ish, parent friendly crooning.  It's straight ahead, parent scaring death metal.  If you're looking for a well-produced slab of such to come blaring through your speakers, then this disc will be money well spent. 

---