Vomit Forth // Terrified Of God // Album Review

Connecticut’s Vomits Forth are bringing you the most chaotic & nightmare filled death metal of 2024, And my album of the year.

Formed in 2018 Vomit Forth quickly turned heads merging the sound of classic slamming death metal the likes of Internal Bleeding, Dying Fetus & Dehumanized with the metallic hardcore power of All Out War & Hatebreed.

Their first album on Century Media “Seething Malevolence” was my album of 2022. Taking all aspects of extreme music that I love & adding a darker element from influences of horror films & survival horror video games to create the most cohesive & immersive album i had heard in sometime.

“Terrified Of God” the band’s newest album & second on Century Media is truly their best to date. A more focused & more horrifying album which I was not ready for…

The first few seconds into “Victim Impact Statement” vocalist Kane Gelaznik lets us know what we are in for. Reciting the lord’s prayer before exploding into a fury this track grabs you quickly. Already within a few seconds the production on this album feels somehow heavier, richer but clearer then the debut so it hits even harder. As the track reaches its chaotic peak Gelaznik spouts “And you’ll wish that you could hear their Victim Impact Statement”. Swinging right out of the gate already.

The band’s first single “Blood Soaked Death Dream” might be my favourite track of VF’s to date. The perfect balance of unhinged death metal & breakdowns.

The performance from all the band on this track is top notch but drummer

Luke Zeitler takes the cake. His long blasting sections are faultless, the texture in the tom work & double kick ideas he had really elevated the track.

Gelaznik again grabs you for a moment with his performance too.

“You said the shame it gets to you, But no matter what I do. You point the finger at me when your knife’s in my back, I bet you wish it was all in your head…” He really makes you feel these lines, not only in its lyrical power but with its catchy & provoking delivery.

With the second punch “Negative Penance” plays with speed & gives you these grinding moments in its first minute before the band really open the track and slow it down into the chorus for this headbanging & head bobbing section. Switching from slam breakdowns to blast beats the pace is all over the place which keeps you on your toes. This track live is gonna be a brain melter.

Unrelenting track “Poison Child” first half is a true lesson in songwriting. Pure aggression & furiously nonstop but it still has a catchy element. When the track reaches its half way point the band flip the script & give you something ethereal, grand & harrowing.

Breaking the track down, then paying it off with building up to a Hatebreed style breakdown, this one a slogger. But yet again they switch it up giving us a bass break from Jett Stotts before bringing it back & closing out the track on a total high point.

“Fixation on the Narrative” showcases the fantastic guitar performance from Bailey Olinger. This track’s tempos & riffs are crazy, the tone the band crafted on this album is so distinct to them & keeping the performance they captured here so tight, clean but ungodly heavy is a true testament to the effort they put into it. This track is also a moment for me to say how Kane Gelaznik is one of my current favourite vocalists. His ability to scream the way he does with all kinds of textures yet also deliver beautiful soulful lines at the halfway point of this track hopefully will let people know how great he is.

Closing track “Salt” is the closing chapter in the saga Vomit Forth have penned. Blending all the elements up until now on the album this track is the curtain call so the band give everything they have left in this sickening & bludgeoning track.

Verse sections which make you feel like you are getting blasted in the chest with a shotgun, too moments of clarity as the track’s keys & soundscapes build the feel & ambience of the sound. As the band rings out & the wall of noise builds to its ultimate climax you are left to pick your disembodied self from the floor.

Vomit Forth are truly a special band. “Seething Malevolence” for me was always going to be a tough album to follow but somehow the band have been able craft an even more putrid, horrifying album that not only challenges you as a listener but gives you everything that is missing from death metal right now. It’s hard to follow a debut album but “Terrified Of God” truly will be a modern classic within the genre in years to come & it’s my album of 2024.

Review: Joseph Mitchell

Terrified Of God out October 11th, 2024 on Century Media