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VITRIOL
To Bathe From The Throat Of Cowardice

Century Media (2019)
Rating: 6/10

Portland, Oregon’s Vitriol is not a band I’ve always gotten on with since they evolved from the ashes of Those Who Lie Beneath in 2013 and their subsequent debut EP Pain Will Define Their Death in 2017.

While very much aggressive and heavy, Vitriol is one of those rather cold acts that combine the spitting venom of, say, Behemoth with the gnashing hostility of Deeds Of Flesh and the like. So basically, this is a band mostly aimed toward the contemporary death metal crowd that exists on a diet of muscular and manly testosterone fuelled metal that usually comes bearded and tattooed. Vitriol exists in a world of angst, pain whilst bereft of nostalgia. Indeed, bands like Vitriol are the Pantera of the death metal world; bruising, intense and revelling in chaos.

Yep, this is one hell of a tight, pummelling death metal racket that just doesn’t let up. In fact, such a racket is caused that I’d only recommend listening to this in the day time. And yet through all the chest-pounding, grunting, wild instrumentation (especially from skin basher Scott Walker) and obvious leans towards a more aggressive Morbid Angel fused with, say, Cattle Decapitation, I remain stone faced. Somehow, bands of this ilk are bursting with such angst and grey emotion that they render me emotionless.

I can’t deny that this is a violent album; an unrelenting, pounding metallic battering ram of frantic percussion, crushing bass lines and the sort of guitar grinding that’ll reduce you to mash. However, as with all my reviews I have to be honest because while I see some touting this opus as their album of the year I’m rather nonplussed. I can appreciate the guttural cacophony of cuts such as ‘The Rope Calls You Brother’ and ‘Hive Lungs’, and almost mesmerized by the assault of ‘The Parting Of The Neck’ and ‘Crowned In Retaliation’, but there’s something generic about it all even as the album shifts through moods. To these ears, the whole thumping experience lacks flavour and colour.

I’m sure this’ll be one of the only slightly negative reviews you’ll read concerning this bludgeoning effort, but as old age creeps in and the bones start to ache, bands such as Vitriol no longer appeal to me; their dense wall of steel a rather numbing process akin to visiting your local waste factory and putting your head in one of the chomping machines.

To Bathe From The Throat Of Cowardice is certainly effective and blunt, it’s only aim to crush you violently and for many that’s enough. However, I’ve heard so much of these volatile outbursts before and there’s only so much I can take from sitting in front of the same raging waves. Your hostile words my friends, they fall on deaf ears as far as I’m concerned, meaning that Vitriol and their endless streams of anger make for a rather average and soulless experience.

Neil Arnold

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