ALBUM REVIEW: Vortex Of Disgust – Bastard Grave
Helsingborg’s BASTARD GRAVE have all the trademark elements that you would expect from a Swedish death metal act; creating music that draws heavily upon classic Swedish acts for inspiration, most prominently ENTOMBED and DISMEMBER, the band definitely have at least one foot firmly planted within an old school death metal sound. However, unlike the vast majority of modern death metal acts writing music in this vein, it’s clear, even when you go as far back as their first album, 2015’s What Lies Beyond, that they are incorporating influences from a broader palette than many of their contemporaries, and that they have the potential to stand head and shoulders above many of their peers on the creative front. The band’s latest, third record, Vortex Of Disgust, is perhaps their most impressive album so far, and is arguably one of the best examples of modern old school death metal in recent memory in that it adds something intriguing to this sub-genre instead of being a carbon copy of its best practitioners.
This album starts strongly with Sunder The Earth – a huge, groove-laden slab of death metal with dense guitars and basslines, equally impenetrable vocals, and steady, punkish drumming that helps turn this from pure death metal into death ‘n’ roll at points. The slick, dancing melodies that are interwoven into this make the track come alive, turning what is a fairly straight forward offering into a punchy opening gambit. Icon Bearer similarly makes full use of muscular rhythms, counterpointed by imaginative leads that blend catchiness and discordance to result in a captivating sound that impressively takes the old school death metal formula and applies some interesting flourishes to it.
Necrotic Ecstasy ties together the sludgy undercurrent, chaotic bursts and powerful leads that have defined the first two tracks and turns out a suitably chunky, instantly memorable track that, when slightly cleaner guitars are introduced into the mix, once again sees the band injecting fresh elements into a tried and tested style, meandering into death-doom territories without parodying them or stripping away this song’s death metal core. Consumed And Forgotten carries forward the cleaner leads and slower tempo and the track is so much better for it, adding a brooding, ominous touch to what could have been a solid but unremarkable offering until the sound shifts towards a faster, cacophonous one in its second half, adding an energy and urgency that again goes a long way to making this stick in the listener’s memory.
Nameless Horror, with its darker, more angular guitars and dissonant hooks, creates a sound that is both monolithic and bleak. The gargantuan guitars and bass serve as a great backdrop to the feral vocals, and although on the surface the style that was present on the album’s first half is present here, this possesses a more visceral side to it that makes it a little more sinister and foreboding. Hunger To Devour continues in this vein, with eerie pianos immediately lending this song a haunting aspect before suddenly lurching into a rabid piece of meaty death metal with thick, chugging guitar work, rumbling bass and bestial vocals, interspersed with slick melodic moments – a short but effective affair.
Eternal Decomposition is a thunderous juggernaut with some excellent, disjointed leads that add a noxious, jarring contrast to the granite-like undercurrent that the bass, drums and vocals throw into the mix, before segueing into death ‘n’ roll – a musical component that has featured at various points on this record that this band excel at. These myriad elements combine for another fantastic and eclectic take on classic death metal. Vortex Of Disgust, similarly to Hunger To Devour, is a far more atmospheric and engrossing song, with ponderous, doom-laden leads, tight drum and bass, and caustic, throaty vocals providing a claustrophobic and sombre feel, with a few caustic bursts of dizzying intensity peppered liberally throughout to add a harsher aspect to proceedings, with the rhythmic and frenetic sides of the band’s sound being balanced extremely well.
Although the influence of classic Swedish death metal bands such as ENTOMBED, DISMEMBER and CARNAGE looms large in this album’s – and indeed this band’s – sound, there’s a lot more to Vortex Of Disgust than just these elements. A generous dose of death-doom, death ‘n’ roll and even more atmospheric moments in particular songs like Hunger To Devour and the album’s title track, show that there’s a lot more emotive depth to this music than mere aggression. There are lots of brilliant twists spread throughout this album that it’s a shame weren’t explored more thoroughly, but it’s very hard to find fault with this record; Vortex Of Disgust is old school death metal done exceptionally well, and with enough character and sonic range to make it stand apart significantly from the sea of bands who peddle poor imitations of a classic formula.
Rating: 9/10
Vortex Of Disgust is out now via Pulverised Records.
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