One of the nice things about reviewing is watching bands grow, in 2020 I reviewed a slew of F.D.A. Records demos, it was a fun and unique reviewing experience for me and one such band who intrigued me was Vomit Spell. Their ballsy Death Metal edge is something that I really enjoy. As readers of mine will know I like things at one extreme or the other. Either it has to be the most putrid stuff I’ve ever heard or the most polished example of Tech Death, today we’re going down the first route.
I was pleased to be offered this debut self-titled record to review. Vomit Spell the German Death Metal purveyors are absolutely the kind of act who know what they’re doing. Even down to the finer points of their name and artwork I very much get the impression that they know what they are doing and how to market their brand to other sickos like myself. This particular debut comes to us through of course F.D.A. Records, but does it build upon their pleasing demo?
Carnage At The Morgue is every bit as Vomit Spell as I have come to expect. Muddy production, gritty vocals that are a bit all over the show and riffs that really don’t contain much in the way of open-minded thinking. Basically, it’s pretty straight OSDM with a touch of Grind/ Hardcore flare to it. You get what you expect with Vomit Spell, Contamination Void really shows that off, honestly it’s one of the best examples of the bands chaotic brand of Death Metal, I wouldn’t personally go mad over it, but it certainly isn’t unpalatable. I appreciate the madness of Curbside Lacerations for example, it has a very Grind theme to it, the kind of track I can imagine having fun with at say OEF.
By the time we roll into Disincarnate I’m still intrigued but again not stunned. There is a certain dirt to this music that I find alluring but I’ve heard other bands do similar things better. Death Junkie exudes a sort of Nekrofilth air about it which I can totally dig, but the energy is perhaps not all there, the whole album is very much on the cusp of brilliance and some times that fact can be a touch grating. I will say that I’m certainly not repulsed though, often times albums like this tend to drag, but there is just enough variation to continually make this a fun experience.
All in all, this is a powerful debut, and given that it is a debut I will allow some unsure footing for Vomit Spell. Yes, it isn’t the most refined Death Metal I’ve ever heard, and whilst that obviously isn’t their aim, I’m speaking more in terms of their own craft of grime laden sickness. I think people often forget that to sound hideous is a talent in itself, anyone can pick up a guitar and make some noise, but honing that edge in the way that for example Nails do takes a lot of skill. Vomit Spell are right on the edge of becoming fantastic and I’m looking forward to further releases in the future.
(7/10 George Caley)
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