Vorum - "Poisoned Void" (2013)

Full – length album (Woodcut Records, 25^th January 2013)

Line – up (2006):    Jonathan Johansson – vocals/guitar;

                                Matti Jalava – guitar;

                                John Finne – bass;

                                Mikko Josefsson – drums.

Location:                Maarianhamina (Finland).

 Cover artwork: Alexander L. Brown

Do you know what are my favourite albums of the “new old” death metal? Also if you don’t care, they are the technical “Contragenesis” of the Australians Ignivomous, the wild but inventive “Morbid Priest of Supreme Blasphemy” of the Polish Kingdom and, dulcis in fundo, the ultra – crazy “Through the Eternal Damnation” of the Turkish Engulfed. Then, I should mention… oh yeah, I mention also the sick “Oath of the Abyss” of the USA monsters Ritual Necromancy, that have a sound so recognizable to be very influential with one only album, also thanks to the dirty and muddy production of the infamous Necromorbus Studios. In fact, Vorum plays a death metal a bit similar to the Ritual Necromancy, also if in a less asphyxiating way and few black metal derivations, but there are certain moments that remind strictly to them.

“Poisoned Void” is the debut album of Vorum, that, after their birth as Haudankaivaja, have vomited 8 tracks per 35 minutes of an obscure death metal without melodies. Their approach alternate in a wise way the bombastic blast – beats and tupa – tupas with slower tempos that have often a good groove, while the doom moments are rare but sometimes with remarkable surprises. The lead guitar has a good importance on the Vorum’s music, so every tracks has a solo at least, and I must notice that the solos are well – differentiated between them, injecting to the music a very pregnant atmosphere. Instead, the vocal sector is characterized by growls more “human” than the usual and very similar to the growls of Germaniac of Verminous (just reviewed yesterday). In other moments our happy Finnish singer shoots frightful murmurs, that are fashionable nowadays (and they are always effective!).

But one of the more recognizable features of Vorum comes from the structure of their songs. There are often breaks into the songs, shooting not few times some thundering restarts close to the heart attack (as in “Impetuous Fires”, one of the more intense and “ignorant” track of the album). In this way, the song that develops this scheme to the top is “Thriving Darkness” that, for the truth, is the episode more orientated to the mid – slower tempos, and, thanks to its sudden and frequent breaks and detachments, it is also very very puzzling.

In fact, Vorum are very able to puzzles the listener, and they do this through many ways. As in “Rabid Blood”, full of apocalyptic solos a là Ritual Necromancy coming directly from the more impossible visceras of the Inferno, not forgetting its freezing solo a là Hellhammer (yeah, there are little black metal influences here and there on the album). Or as in the titletrack, 7 minutes of pure delirium that ends repeating and varying the same passage in total paranoia for 3 minutes circa (classic finale for many death metal albums), developing it in a great way.

All these bullshits to saying “Poisoned Void” is a true masterpiece! Its only (relative) flaw is to be better during its first part that’s generally more intense and inventive than the second half, that stands out thanks to the great closing track. All this is introduced by a cryptic atmosphere. Nothing else, if you’ll want to enter the nightmare’s world of the Vorum, you’ll saved from your will maybe… but if you’ll unprepared for it you’ll go mad soon in a more bad way than the main characters created by H.P. Lovecraft.

Vote: 84

Flavio “Claustrofobia” Adducci

Tracklist:

1 – Impetuous Fires/ 2 – Death’s Stains/ 3 – Rabid Blood/ 4 – Thriving Darkness/ 5 – Evil Seed/ 6 – In Obscurity Revelead/ 7 – Dance of Heresy/ 8 – Poisoned Void

BandCamp:

http://vorum.bandcamp.com/

Official site:

http://www.vorumdeath.com/