Artist: Vomitory
Country: Sweden
Label: Metal Blade Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2023
Vomitory is such a band that is hard to dislike if you are into extreme metal in general or Death Metal in particular. Although it might not be easy to really tell whether they have really delivered a genre milestone or a true masterpiece, I think that most Death Metal fans at least own one or two of the band’s albums. Besides a rather steady stream of quality releases they have also been a fan’s favourite on the many underground stages, those who have seen them will vividly remember ploughing through their sets of great and well-crafted Death Metal, all at break neck speed. Admittedly, the band’s last album, ‘Opus Mortis VIII’ from 2011, was not their best but I am still convinced that many were sad to see the band calling its quits not all too long after.
But, the band’s split-up was more of an elongated hiatus as they have had a brief return in 2017 and announced their permanent return a year later. It took the band a few years, bridging a pandemic, to finally come up with that long awaited new album – a comeback album, if you will. Personally I am not that fond of the term “comeback album”, as the list of albums that were categorized that way that were downright disappointing is extremely long, while on the other hand, the number of convincing returns is disappointingly short.
But we can rest assured, if we were really concerned about it in the first place: Vomitory didn’t lose any of its core strength and of that overwhelming power. Vomitory was never much of a band that was on the lookout for broadening their musical scope or digging around for adventurous rides. On the contrary I would say, though their roots are definitely to be found in Swedish Death Metal, their craft is not much in the same line of their big(ger) contemporaries. They share a bit of a chug and punch with some other Swedish Death Metal bands, but Vomitory is mostly a band that has been all about speed, thundering speed to be exact, roaring vocals and above all just an aggressive sort of pummelling Death Metal that goes down with basically everybody who has a soft spot for Death Metal.
That doesn’t mean the band has had nothing to offer on a musical level. All songs are actual songs, with surprisingly catchy structures and well-balanced texture, but it was all poured into that speedy Slayer-goes-Death-Metal sort of mould. That was basically already the case on the rather rough sounding first two albums as well as on fan-favourites like ‘Revelation Nausea’ (2001) and ‘Blood Rapture’ (2002) and it is to so much relief to simply state that this 2023-opus ‘All Heads Are Gonna Roll’ is just simply in line with those albums. The album chops through its ten tracks like a bloody chainsaw, as such, the album is cast in excellently fitting artwork. All the trademark Vomitory elements are there: the fast riffs, the pulverizing drums and that recognizable, deafening vocal delivery of Erik Rundqvist.
After having heard ‘All Heads Are Gonna Roll’ a very good number of times, there are many thoughts that can be shared. First of all, it is good to realise that there are actually “comeback albums” that are worth checking out, but it is also a proper conclusion to draw that those “oldies” are still very much in the game. But above everything, it is so much of a relief that Vomitory is still so much just Vomitory. That means these Swedes keep on focussing on what they are good at, this band will never get into hydra-mode hopping from one trend to another. But, while Vomitory by no means is a multi-headed monster, they definitely still make sure, like no other, that all those heads are gonna roll. That is soothing thought, glad to have you back lads!
