Raped in Their Own Blood

Lo and behold, Vomitory are back in business again in order to celebrate their 30th birthday. Many live dates have already been confirmed for 2019, a new album is still uncertain, but, as a German proverb says: "Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt" (hope is the last to day). However, even if the band decides to add no further album to its voluminous catalogue, death metal freaks, vandals and all kinds of aggressors have the possibility to go wild to the old works of the Swedes. "Raped in Their Own Blood", the debut, has only one major flaw. The artwork sucks. But in terms of the main content, the music, the band shows its muscles. The experience of the band's first seven years from 1989 to 1996 shines through the individual tracks. There are absolutely no immature sequences, the album is basically on a par with the later works and everything is death metal as f**k: the sound of the guitars, the barking voice, the general brutality.

Moreover, the ten songs don't suffer from incoherent patterns. The listener does not get lost in a continuum of noise, there is always a certain structure that guides him or her through the wasteland of terror. The main riff of "Inferno", to mention but one example, serves as point of orientation, because it adds a very dynamic touch to the song. It is exactly this type of riff that saves death metal formations from monotony. The limited genre needs such a feature to avoid boredom and the debutants are aware of this challenge (and, better still, they are able to manage it). They also do not shy way from a few catchy elements. The chorus of the title track keeps sticking in the mind in a matter of seconds. Finally, Vomitory vary the pace more or less successfully. The average velocity is not too high and so they also create some nearly melancholic sections. Bolt Thrower hail from the distance every now and then, but they are no obvious influence.

From the air raid sirens which introduce the songs until the last chord, Vomitory do not show a sign of weakness. Highlights such as the title track embody exactly the kind of violence death metal is known for, while "Dark Grey Epoch" offers, among other things, lines that almost remind me of Candlemass. But the doom-compatible sections remain exceptional on an album that does not head for new shores. The brutal production as well as the music focus on purity and therefore any alien elements do not show up. The magnificently titled (joke, joke!) "Raped in Their Own Blood" is exactly what it wants to be: a clear statement, a representative record of the genre for an explicitly defined target group, even though the closer reveals a certain, black painted Celtic Frost inspiration. So love it or hate it, but don't fear you will be left in uncertainty. And now I wait for a new album of the dudes. I am curious to see what will happen in 2019, not only in relation to Swedish death metal returnees.

Vomitory do not belong among the oldest death metal bands coming from Sweden, but their music closely follow traditions set by the country's pioneering deathsters. However, this is not enough said about 'Raped in Their Own Blood', Vomitory's debut album.

Musically, most of the songs sound like their titles. For example, 'Nervegasclouds' and 'Inferno' are brutal blast-fests while 'Dark Grey Epoch' and 'Sad Fog over Sinister Runes' are more horror-tinged songs. Ripping aggression plays a bigger part on this album, although there's a good slab of eerie vibes, too. The slower songs, in which these horror songs belong to, are longer, but there's quite a lot of tempo changes in them. Most of the fast stuff has also slower headbanging parts to give a breather or two for a listener. The compositions are not the most primal stuff ever, but it's really pretty much a lost labour to search any huge melody work, although there's some great lead work, e.g. on 'Thorns'. Vomitory are about riffs and beats and vocals. Since this is Swedish death metal, some punk influences can be heard (not quite Machetazo, but some D-beats for example) and 'Pure Death' the band sound more like a death metal version of German thrashers Sodom. And there's some Bolt Thrower moments on the album, too. The vocals are low roar spiced with higher growls. I like more of the faster stuff, because when the band hits the right gear, they roll over you without mercy. However, the slower songs really do embody massive amounts of atmosphere.

There's no showing off in performance, but the band seemed to have great time recording this. Many a song lacks of a guitar solo and that's a good example of the vibe. There's a good amount of sweat and beer in the playing. This album belongs to infamous "what production?" league. Okay, to be fair, every instrument is well audible in the mix. Rawest edge was cut off by the use of reverb on the vocals. This kind of effect works better on horror atmosphere, not so well for more aggressive death metal. The guitars buzz too much for my liking and it's left for the bass and the kick drums to handle the lower end. Which they luckily do. The lyrics are above average and there's loads of 'em. War, death (oh, really?) and arcane things are the themes. My version is The Plague (a subsidiary of late Hammerheart Records) re-release from 1999, but I think this is an exact copy of the original Fadeless Records version. The prints look like they've been scanned from the original version and then reprinted. But the cover art is a tad lame anyways.

During its best moments, this really rips and sounds fucking good, but there's also some slightly colourless moments. The production also affects negatively to the score. But if you're searching for true brutal Swedish death metal, this is the one album you should check out ASAP. As the title track says it: "Death metal traitors die, raped in their own blood."

(Originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com in 2004)

I wasn't all to familar with Vomitory, so I decided to start from the beginning and pick up "Raped In Their Own Blood". When bands use graphic photos as album covers, it gives me a feeling of being a part of an underground scene. Kinda ridiculous, but it's one of the things I appreciate about this album. Swedish death metal has a lot offer a metal fan, and I wondered if these guys were going to fit the bill... and they did. This is definitely an instant classic in my mind.

The first track clued me in to the production of the album, and it's the kind that I relish in. The use of reverb on vocals, and pristine drum sounds that don't overpower the amazing tone of the guitars... it makes me think of other classic death metal albums like "Scream Bloody Gore" or "Altars of Madness". I can see inflences of grindcore and maybe even sludge, but over all it's a very death metal album. The speed is exemplary on the title track and "Through Spectral Shadows" and when the drums slow their beat to let the guitars ring out some sinister tones, it mostly doesn't take away from the brutality of the songs, however I feel it comes up a lot. The vocals are also something to enjoy. Ronnie Olson truly has some epic growls that smother the song with evil.

"Inferno" is my favorite track, just because of the sheer speed and momentum the song maintains. The constant shout of INFERNO makes me think this could've been an athem track when played live. The album closes with "Thorns" and it's hard to deny it's black metal influence, even if that wasn't their intent. This sudden shift in tone make it the perfect track to close with. It has kind of a slow groove that picks up a little, but rest assured, the blast beats pick up around the two minute mark.

This is a great album. My only complaint is what I consider an overusage of slowing drum beats in the middle of songs. But overall, I would recommend this to any death metal fan.

Raped In Their Own Blood is the very first album by Vomitory after 7 years form the creation of the band. It took a long time but finally these true death metal beasts succeeded in releasing something that could have a wider distribution. This album, if compared to the recent efforts by this band, shows a little less impulsive paces but the same anger and will to destroy. The production too is not the pounding one we will find on Redemption album and everything sounded more bound to the underground, with pure sounds and the classic Repulsion influenced production.

This album begins with the long “Nervegasclouds” that almost immediately shows ultra heavy riffs and quite slow tempo parts. The structures are dynamic and those incredibly destructive crust/grind influenced riffs are always perfectly melted down with the classic tremolo. The vocals are low-pitched and really brutal, fitting perfectly for the mood of this track. The title-track and “Dark Grey Epoch” are faster with an excellent bass drums work and some up tempo sections that often caress the blast beats style. This last song, especially, displays a few black metal style riffs and some parts could actually fit in a black release because the tremolo riffing is far more present, but without forgetting the sheer impact of the death metal elements.

“Pure Death” is heavily influenced by what the end of the 80s was able to create thanks to the combination of early grindcore with the heaviness of the death metal. Here we have massive up tempo sections that come through doomy ones to give the right impact and make us headbang without rest. “Through Sepulchral Shadows” begins quite fast with, again, a few influences from black for the riffage but the classic Vomitory slow sections let all the grooving power come out, filling the air with that gore touch. “Inferno” is one of the most inspired and violent tracks of the whole CD, and its greatness comes especially with the main riffs on tremolo, without forgetting the screamed refrain and the rotten bass break.

“Sad Fog Over Sinister Runes” again privileges the up tempo for the faster sections and this is the main difference from the following albums. The speed is never excessive and the blast beats are not overused. The up tempo is even better for some parts because it supports that gore touch and it doesn’t erase it. The blast beats are mainly for the tremolos and this is better. “Into Winter Through Sorrow” and its hyper crunchy riffs in pure old school grind style soon invade the album but “Perdition” is not that different, being short and far more impulsive thanks to a heavier employ of the blast beats. The last “Thorn” is different because it points on the dark, slow progression for the first part but, as we go on, we can meet again fast parts and the classic crust/death metal riffs to end in a good way this very good opus.

Raped in Their Own Blood is a very good, first sign by a young band with an already enviable power. This album is recommended especially if you are looking for a bit less impulsive and more old-fashioned Vomitory but, in general, if you love death metal this cannot be overlooked.

The best album by Vomitory, no questions asked. All of their other albums can be judged on the same level as non-stop Swedish tech death, but this one stand out all on its lonesome. It is an absolute masterpiece and a continuation of the legacy of Nihilist, Grotesque, Dismember, Morbid, etc. indeed, this is the last old school Swedish death metal album, after this album there is no more old school in Sweden. So this album marks the end of an entire era, to my mind. 1996, and it was all over, lasted more than 10 years, if we count from the birth of Nihilist onwards. The rest of Vomitory is also worth mentioning, as there are great riff sin there, but it all sort of sounds similar after this album. They get really heavy and really dense on the later ones, while on this work it is still the lofty old school stuff. There are plenty of melodious passages, and a lot of Swedish crust d-beat riffs as well, which is sort of surprising. The singer’s vocals are like on all of his releases, nice deep gruff howling voice. The drumming is mostly mid-tempo, but some well-rounded blast beats also make their way unto this recording. The rest of the sections are slow, mid-paced riffage, some triplet work done as well. Some black metal riffs are also on this release, but mostly it is Swedish old school death metal. And at that it is some of the best material recorded in this vein. All in all I would recommend it as a sight of what Vomitory was like before they became the double bass pumping, blast beating beasts they became today. A somewhat slower and lot more melodious Vomitory is what the listener will find, and it is quiet delightful, as the melodies are sad and dark, the voice is rough as hell, and the attitude is best described as ‘fuck off’. Worth the money you would pay for it.