Wednesday 26 October 2016

ALBUM REVIEW: Vermin Womb - "Decline"

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.

“Decline” is available in Europe here and overseas here




Band info: bandcamp || facebook


FFO: Primitive Man, Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire, Fuck The Facts, Dead in the Dirt