Vorum - Poisoned Void

Vorum

Poisoned Void

by Lior "Steinmetal" Stein at 14 March 2013, 2:42 PM

The darkened pits are screaming for the black, the plague to reach from the lowest pits of the earth to scorn the highest mountains and entrench every soul. Bringing it back to the hay days of yesterday, never stopping to think that everything has changed rapidly throughout the years, abandoning the will to advance but to remain true to the old heritage that has been slowly fortified by anguish, the Finnish VORUM will never give in and will send out its own hell riders to do the takeover. I have to admit that it has been a while since I listened to a band that seemed to be so affectionate about the late 80s and early 90s of Death Metal with all of its anti-religious detestation, pure epic proportions of wild songwriting resulting in unending madness that just keeps coming along with hailing squeals towards the greyish scenery that fits so well. VORUM are no veterans, they have been around for half a dozen years or so, but their guts are signed with the old school conjuration. “Poisoned Void”, via Woodcut Records, is their debut usage of their power to adapt both US and European styled Death Metal while harnessing the foreboding powers of Black Metal.

Bleak, tainted with blood, “Poisoned Void” came and left my ears with a raging thunderstorm with a purpose to prove to me that there is a different end to everything. Detaching themselves from the current modern Death Metal enslavements, VORUM trust the old foul gods to guide them. Reminiscent chugs of VENOM, SLAYER, early DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, MAYHEM, early ASYPHX and ground breaking POSSESSED, have been noticeable all throughout the album. What puzzled me a bit was the fact that the production, which has been old school oriented, semi raw I might add, hasn’t been that unswerving, but for some reason I liked it along with the turmoil. From “Evil Seed”, my favoured track of the album that really conciliated as a Thrash / Death Metal output, and on the songs sounded with lesser bass than earlier.

“Evil Seed” itself delivered a full scale war on everything, charging with punches of absolute drum mayhem only to recoil with a mid tempo SLAYERish construct that also contributed a fervent soloing just as the American giants once produced. Then the violence continues, isn’t that a plain classic or what? I have to be honest with you, the rest of the tracks, aside from “Thriving Darkness” and “Dance of Heresy” that seemed less than regular, and I didn’t mean it for being a good thing, more or less displayed the same old frolics and saucy attitude as old Death Metal once proclaimed. There have been plenty moments of chugger riffing, crushing blast beats onslaught and fast picking forlorn aggressions, decent growl, eager singing and I can’t live out the soloing merely influenced by the old SLAYER, which could once produce fine soloing and for some reason forgot about it, speedy and crafty soloing never to be forgotten. I was glad that VORUM kept it steady without using trends as it wouldn’t have suited them in the first place. Certainly not the shining star in the sky but a gift from the pits of six feet under, old school fans will want to feast on this one.