Here is a band that really doesn't need any kind of introduction as they've been one of the best underground groups to hail from down under with their brand of primitive death/thrashing madness, so I'm gonna keep this review short and sweet. If you take some of the earliest extreme metal acts like Bathory, Venom, Hellhammer, Tormentor and the like, throw 'em in a blender with some of Australia's most potent alcohol, some devil's poison and some more alcohol, you get Vomitor. Sign them up with one of the best metal labels in the world in Hell's Headbangers, and you've got a recipe for some crude, violent and blasphemous music of the highest degree. "The Escalation" is the band's third full-length and if you enjoyed their past two records, then there is no reason to not enjoy this one, so just quit reading this and preorder the fucking thing.
This album starts off much like the band's debut "Bleeding the Priest" does - muddled feedback noise that eventually morphs into spastic, thrashy riffage and shouting barks from hell, courtesy of frontman Death Dealer. That could be the description for just about every song on "The Escalation," but there's also plenty of ugly tremolo sections, blasting drumming, guitar solos straight from "Pleasure to Kill," crushing midpaced moments, and riffs that are older than the old-school, hailing back to the days when Venom was considered to be the devil and Lemmy was banging groupies every day (though that probably still happens). "Salem Witches Grave" is one hell of a headbanger with stellar riffage, while "Hellburst to Fight" sounds exactly what a song with that title would sound like; absolute fucking mayhem. Vomitor have continued to march forward with a sound that can only be described as bestial and ugly, but they have continued to manage sounding as old-school as possible without getting repetitive and boring, which deserves a metal salute of the most epic proportions. This is hellish noise that is guaranteed to scare off non-metalheads, as well as alienate plenty of metal-listeners who think of this as nothing more than a Sarcofago ripoff or nothing but utter disgusting noise. But for those who enjoy Vomitor's ancient metal stylings, "The Escalation" is simply awesome metal made for denying entry to the falses.
Be sure to check out and like Vomitor on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vomitor/170920829616359
Highlights
"Salem Witches Grave"
"Hellburst to Fight"
"Metal or Die"
Final Rating
4.4/5 or 88%.