By: Charlie Butler
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 28/10/2016
Label: Throatruiner | Translation Loss |
Hibernation
Releases | Sentient Ruin
Vermin Womb succinctly distill the essence of their sound into one
word: “Violence”. It is a grimly
exhilarating ride, but an oppressive racket that is hard to resist.
“Decline” CD//CS//DD//LP track listing:
1).
Entomb
2).
Industrialist
3).
Disrepair
4).
Present Day
5).
Rank & File
6).
Pitiless
7).
Age of Neglect
8).
Inner World
9).
Slave Money
10).
Cancer
The Review:
iTunes genre tags are generally pretty useless.
Denver wrecking crew Vermin Womb provide an
exception to this rule by using the tag to succinctly distill the essence of
their sound into one word: “Violence”.
New album “Decline”
packs an almost unbearable amount of venom and fury into its sub-25 minute
duration. The trio rip through ten tracks of relentless horror, an ugly fusion
of the gnarliest elements of death metal and grindcore. Vocalist/guitarist Ethan
McCarthy also plays in the mighty Primitive Man, a band
whose bleak onslaught is echoed here albeit with the tempo cranked up into the
red.
The whole record seems filtered through a sickly
haze which lends a hint of black metal atmosphere to proceedings. This
influence really comes to the fore during the wailing riffs that usher in “Industrialist”.
Vermin Womb
maintain a constant high tempo barrage for the majority of “Decline” but throw in a few curve balls
to keep things interesting. The crushing slow-motion intro of “Age of Neglect” hits even harder in
amongst a sea of blastbeats and the stop-start sludge riffing in “Slave Money” is a welcome addition. When
the band break into pummelling Disfear style
crust-punk during closer “Cancer” it sounds almost optimistic in contrast to the
surrounding drudgery. The mood does not last though as the track is dragged
back into the dirt for a slow,
punishing finale.
“Decline”
is a grimly exhilarating ride. It’s not pretty but Vermin Womb’s
oppressive racket is hard to resist.
FFO:
Primitive Man, Clinging to
the Trees of a Forest Fire, Fuck The Facts, Dead in the Dirt
