Vomitory – In Death Throes
Release Date: 10th April 2026
Label: Metal Blade Records
Stream
Genre: Death Metal, Swedish Death Metal, Old School Death Metal, Grindcore.
FFO: Grave, Dismember, Frozen Soul, Autopsy, Bloodbath, Bolt Thrower.
Review By: Rick Farley
For a death metal band that’s been around since 1989, who’s released nine authentic albums of uncompromised, no frills gut punching brutality, Sweden’s genre stalwarts Vomitory, in my mind are criminally and severely underappreciated. Often overshadowed by their peers like Dismember and Entombed, these crushingly heavy Swedes are back to remind everyone what actual pure old school death metal sounds like with album number ten, In Death Throes. Despite a six-year hiatus from 2013 to 2019 and several line-up changes throughout the years, the band remains an integral part of death metals history.
In Death Throes first off is not going to sound like or be a reinvention of the death metal wheel, so if that’s what you’re looking for here, you should probably just strap in for some old school violence in its most pure form. Blistering, forward moving buzzsaw style riffs with shouty gutturals and a punishing rhythm section capable of snapping necks, all built around the crushing foundation of finding the balance of up-tempo and groove is what you’re about to get. Death metal doesn’t have to be overly complicated; it just has to make you want to destroy everything around you. Just don’t be fooled though into thinking this isn’t crafted with highly skilled musicianship, because it’s quite accomplished, but if your main reaction to opener Rapture in Rupture is pit violence and the possibility of broken bones, you are listening to the right band. Breakneck intensity, buzzing guitars grinding to the reckless abandon of blast beats and suffocating density immediately set the tone for the entire record and reminds everyone death metal is best when its bloodthirsty attack makes you grin from ear to ear.
For Gore and Country for me is a track that I would show anyone that questions why the old school death metal sound is so beloved. Its immediate outburst of extreme bludgeoning speed going straight into a ridiculously catchy, bouncy riff with throaty growls and back again, is a sound that never grows old. Throw in an outro section of stompy groove based on the main riff, and I’m sold every time. The d-beat punishment from the thrashy, grindy Cataclysmic Fleshfront is infectious and attacking allowing its shreddy leads to rip right through. A middle section of slower steamrolling double bass groove sets up a call to arms in the form of a growl along chorus hook that ends with your horns raised up triumphantly as if you just defeated a horde of the undead. My personal favourite for outright pit nastiness however is The Zombie War General. It twists and turns through gut-wrenching crunchy riffs and buzzsaw guitar lines with pummelling blast beats that will wreck anything within its reach. The overwhelming density engulfs you, breaks some bones and spits you out only to further stomp you out of existence.
Production wise recording for In Death Throes took place in multiple studios with drums and vocals being recorded at Leon Music Studio with Rikard Löfgren handling the engineering. Guitars and bass were tracked at Goff Studios with Christian Frediksson, and mixing/mastering was done by Lawrence Mackrory at Rorysound Studios. The album is crisp, tight, and fully fleshed out. Everything is mixed well and sounds absolutely devastating. The bottom end creates the thickness, while the guitars pierce through still maintaining each tracks heaviness.
This is an easy win for a band that’s been there done that. Vomitory is one of the reasons why old school death metal is mimicked by so many bands these days. In Death Throes is an album that’s energetic, memorable, outrageously fun and will be on repeat for a long time. Easy recommend.
(4 / 5)
