Vomit Fist – Omnicide

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VOMIT FIST is a self-described Blackened Grindcore act from New York, and their second EP, “Omnicide,” was released on Dec. 1, 2019. While the band calls their sound “blackened,” there were about two or three Black Metal moments on this EP, excluding the vocals that definitely had that classic, Blackened shriek. If anything, this was closer to Progressive Grindcore, but not quite Mathcore.

“Omnicide” started with mild, basic Grindcore riffs. In the first three songs, which collectively make up for roughly 2:44 of this record, the most interesting moments were on “Flies Choke the Grove.” This track was a groovy, riff-heavy chord-machine that experimented with time signature enough to catch and hold the attention of the listener.

This newfound thirst for diversity brought on by track two was fully quenched with “Single-Minded Annihilation.” This track spanned five minutes, making it the longest song on the EP. The song followed a structure that scarcely repeated a riff a second time and progressed naturally through complex instrumentation. It reached an instrumental break that featured dissonant, blackened and atmospheric riffs. It was undoubtedly the highlight of the EP.

“Mass Mutation” followed up this monumental track with even more Progressive Metal. With HIERONYMUS BOSCH-like riffs, the song stood out from the rest. It featured a very advanced bass line and an overall progression that was irresistible in quality. It was just over two minutes long, making it like a snippet of a Progressive Death Metal masterpiece.

With the better tracks evenly spread out, it was no surprise that the EP had a very strong ending. “Choir of the Submerged Church” had technical riffing on top of the dissonant Grindcore that made up the majority of the record. The intro riff was similar to older OPETH, and the same riff was reprised later in the song. The reprisal was much more elaborate and thought-out with incredible progression and vocal variety.

Overall, “Omnicide” was simultaneously by-the-books and outside of the box. Most of the shorter tracks were basic, directionless, dissonant Grindcore, but the other tracks were beautifully crafted Progressive and technical pieces. The basic Grindcore aspects were not bad; they were just not as profound as the other, more complex tracks. This is highly recommended to fans of CAR BOMB.

Songwriting: 9
Musicianship: 8
Memorability: 7
Production: 7