EP REVIEW: Vore – Serocs

For the 2010s, technical death metal was the flavour of the decade. The blistering hurricane of sweep picking, jazzy influences and brutality came to dominate the extreme metal scene. But, as is always the case when a sub-genre gains exponential popularity, the tech-death scene became over-saturated at best, bordering on boring in the last few years. However, there are some bands that continue to bring excitement to the genre – both in the upper echelons and in the underground. Enter SEROCS, the Mexican – by way of France and Canada – outfit. With a sound more akin to the old-school brutality of HATE ETERNAL, rather than the riff-salad of many of their contemporaries, the trio, led by Antonio Freyre Ascencio, have always brought something a bit different to the tech-death scene. But can they keep the interest growing with their newest EP, Vore?

Vore explodes to life with Anthropic. Here, SEROCS waste no time in throwing the listener into a world of chaos, tech riffs bludgeoning with aggression while the drum work of session musician Kévin Paradis of BENIGHTED fame keeps the tempos high and the rhythms tight. The interplay between Ascencio and fellow axeman Antoine Daigneault (CHTHE’ILIST) is a lovely addition, the melodies and leads playing off each other nicely. However, it’s with lead single Building A Shrine Upon Vanishing Sands that the guitar work really shines. Where Anthropic was a modern tech-death beast, Building A Shrine Upon Vanishing Sands is something else. Be it in the solos, the lead-breaks or the maelstrom of riff work, the guitars dominate here, making this easily the strongest track Vore has to offer.

At just under a minute and a half, Shallow Vaults is a fine interlude, but the atmosphere it creates is wasted on such a short offering. The wasted potential doesn’t carry over to The Temple of Knowledge though, thankfully. Here, we see SEROCS at their most dissonant and chaotic, channelling their inner INCANTATION and King of All Kings-era HATE ETERNAL to incredible effect. The vocal work of Laurent Bellemare really shines here, showing the full extent of his range. Closing track To Self Devour is solid, carrying a bit more melody than the rest of Vore – though its clear SEROCS hit their peak on this EP with the midsection, Building A Shrine Upon Vanishing Sands and The Temple of Knowledge dominating the release.

There’s not much to really complain about with Vore. Chaotic and dissonant enough to separate SEROCS from the majority of the over-saturated tech-death scene, while blistering and brutal enough to still keep them firmly in the genre, Vore is a solid example of tech-death done right. Atmospheric where its called for, utterly crushing for the majority, SEROCS‘ newest offering is a bloody good time from start to finish.

Rating: 7/10

Vore is set for release June 26th via Everlasting Spew Records. 

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