Review Summary: Ted Bundy's favorite album!
Slamming brutal death metal is a pretty divisive genre for metalheads. Most bands in the genre have some decent tracks but then the gimmick kinda runs its course. Its not all the time that "slam" metal bands can release an entire album full of banger songs. Vomit Forth's
Northeastern Deprivation is indeed one of those exceptions.
The main reason why I feel that these guys were able to pull this off is the length of the album itself. Clocking in at barely a half hour,
Northeastern Deprivation doesn't overstay its welcome like a lot of slam bands tend to do. Average song length is about 2 and a half minutes....and those 2 and a half minutes are enough to have you bound, gagged and bludgeoned to death. The riffs on this album are so intense (and kinda overproduced) in a way that literally feels as if a boulder has been dropped on your noggin, leaving you a drooling mess and wondering what the hell just happened. Suffocation's early albums come to mind with the blunt force trauma from the buzzsaw of riffs and blast beats and the occasional breakdowns so common in brutal death metal.
The vocals on this album are absolutely barbaric. Alternating between some extremely low "burping" a la Demilich and some of the most painful banshee shrieks you'll ever have the pleasure of hearing. The variety in the vocals adds another element that a lot of slam bands don't go for. A lot of bands are happy with the generic low pitched death growls so common in this genre, but not Vomit Forth. This little niche adds a nice flavor to a genre that isn't known for wandering outside it's limits.
Northeastern Deprivation is an easy album to digest in full. Any metalheads who have been afraid to take the leap and start jamming slamming brutal death metal would be wise to start here. While not an easy album to take in by any means, the short length and level of variety between the vocals and tradeoff between the riffs/breakdowns make it a strong candidate for a first time slam goer and one of the most entertaining albums of its kind
