Thinking of how to begin this review I was pondering the quote from one of our forum readers Gast “extreme metal is black and death (and some say thrash) metal, no melodic death, and no melodic metal...” Pretty fair definition of extreme metal. With this in mind there is no doubt Vomitory are of the extreme metal ilk. Just to be clear on one thing, the name of the band is really not the place where one disgorges the contents of the stomach, but a term describing an entrance piercing the banks of seats of a theater, arena or stadium (although only the band itself knows exactly why the name was chosen).

Although Vomitory has been around for a decade they are not as widely known as their many others Swedish death metal brethren. Speaking for myself, Blood Rapture is the first Vomitory album I have ever heard, and there is only one definition to describe it – this is old-school Swedish death metal, almost retro Swedish death metal in its approach and attitude.

Staying away from harmonies (Dark Tranquillity), not leaning heavily into thrash (Defleshed, The Forsaken, Carnal Forge) and definitely not modernizing their sound (In Flames, Soilwork) Vomitory subscribes to the Entombed-Dismember-Grave equation to spit out their death metal. This band is brutal, heavy, complex and groovy at the same time. Unlike some of the more technical American death metal (Morbid Angel, Nile) Vomitory is also extremely accessible (I mean for those who enjoy death metal) with their punky all-out headbanging approach that goes straight for your neck and cranium.

Chaos Fury is the perfect opener for an album like Blood Rapture. Brutal blasting and superfast snare by Tobias Gustafsson lay the foundation for Dismember-like riffs and catchy melodic leads by guitarists Urban Gustaffson and Ulf Dalegren. Erik Rundquist handles both bass and vocals with his grunt being pure death metal in its unadulterated form. The vocals hardly change throughout the album staying true to the core. Undoubtedly befitting the music, such lack of variation may become monotonous for some. Adding a higher pitched shriek (Kataklysm, Amon Amarth) would have benefited here in my modest opinion. Most of the time Vomitory plays their death metal fast laying some crazy leads over blastbeats in Redeemed in Flames or Rotting Hill. Slower groovier spots are a “beauty” on Blood Rapture (Blessed and Forsaken and Madness Prevails) and Vomitory should consider doing more of those death marches since they perform them so well. And when you think the closer title track is going to be some slow melodic outro the band smacks the final nail in the coffin by going through some monstrously heavy riffs.

There is a theory out there that as Entombed, Dismember and Unleashed were the past of the “real” Swedish death metal bands like Amon Amarth and Vomitory is its present. Comparing the last two, Vomitory is not as immediately catchy and does not have a Viking “theme”, the lyrics here are the usual death metal mankind annihilation and gore, but they are much more complex and technical than Amon Amarth. Both bands recorded their last albums in Berno Studios in Malme where every instrument is clearly heard, including Rundquist’s vocals.

If you crave for a brutal headbang fest and don’t care there may be little variation between nine crushing cuts that Vomitory displays on Blood Rapture, go ahead, and pick this up by all means!