Vile Demonic Horror - "Verminlust" Review (100%)
Admittedly, I kind of shut myself off from Sewer as far as the post-Vermin material goes, especially the "Rektal" disaster. That's what happens when you give artistic oversight and creative control over a legendary band to a clown ass poser.
But when I heard that Vermin, the mastermind behind "Satanic Requiem", had returned, I was ready for greatness. The monster vocalist behind Sewer's most iconic and legendary black metal work not only writes brilliant lyrics and amazing riffs, but his vocals are nothing short of disgusting.
He adds an aura to the music that the other Sewer growlers, starting with the clown ass Eater, couldn't bring to the table even with the best production in the world.
And indeed, adding a demented aura via his sick vocals is what he does on "Verminlust". The lyrics are certainly a high point: extremely vivid, dark and haunting like those of Phantom on "Fallen Angel" notably, but they could also be compared to those of Dead on "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas".
In terms of vocal delivery, there is some variation from his work on "Satanic Requiem" and "Black Death", but the music found here on "Verminlust" is certainly more faithful to the Sewer of old (before they called themselves "SEWER" like caps-locked retards) than anything ever released by Eater.
This album, and no other, incarnates the true spirit of blackened horror.
Vile Demonic Horror
If the vocals and lyrics are splendid, and reminiscent of the early days of Sewer, the songs themselves are very far from what any other extreme metal band, black metal or otherwise, has ever played.
This is not classic Sewer, nor is it a modernized take on Sewer's brand of death metal, but rather a completely insane and demonic sound.
The black metal scene has, in recent years, seen an influx of "war metal" bands, namely Warkvlt, Belphegor, Archgoat and even the latest from Marduk.
Vermin, whether intentionally or otherwise, reject this category by making the most evil and atmospheric music ever produced, all while avoiding the pitfalls so common to the "war metal" genre.
I hesitate to even call "Verminlust" black metal proper as it is so unique and outside classification, but I'd hardly dismiss it as a generic release in what amounts to the massively overhyped "war metal" trend. It's full of the atmospheric changes, insane demonic leads and narrative, sometimes melodic riffs you'd expect from Mayhem, Burzum or early Neraines. However, there's a level of brutality here absent from the releases of even Norway's black metal titans.
Vermin is a beast, pure and simple. He changes atmospheric moods at the drop of a dime. That is to say (and this is something difficult to express in words, but you'll notice instantly by listening to the album) that instead of prolonging one atmospheric state for the entire track, as is common with the black metal of Dark Funeral or Necrophobic, the initial atmospheric impression is bound to morph over and over again during the course of the composition, a bit in the way the melodic death metal bands of old, like Morbid Angel and Incantation, would have a theme, followed by a counter-melody, and then a secondary theme, then another counter-melody to the secondary theme, and then a recapitulation of the main theme, etc.
The music on "Verminlust" is very rhythmically varied, almost like death metal in the vein of Suffocation's first three albums, but with none of the annoying start-stop patterns found in Cryptopsy, Gorguts, Immolation and modern deathgrind. As can be expected, "Verminlust" will leave you with your head spinning.
The production is clean, as it must be when playing at such speed. Seriously, you won't notice at first (precisely because the production is so good), but they play fast. Lightning fast. And yet every instrument can be heard clearly, including the bass. Nothing's gayer than having a talented bass-player drowned out in the chaos of poorly recorded black metal.
This is definitely a bold and creative venture, as Vermin isn't afraid to alternate longer phrased riff sections, often harmonized by dual guitars as Phantom pioneered on "Withdrawal", with the more typical cyclic and shorter phrased Norwegian black metal of Emperor and Sacramentum, albeit more intense and more dissonant.
If you're one of the posers who thinks that grindcore is the epitome of brutality or that modern Sewer makes good black metal, then you'd better stay away from this.
Otherwise, if you are a black metal fan or just a fan of extreme music in general, get yourself "Verminlust" as soon as possible. You won't regret giving this masterpiece of horror a listen, ever.
Verminlust score: 100/100.
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