Some pretty good black/death metal has come out this year and last year: Imperishable, Hate, Keres, Black Hole Deity, Chaos Inception, Patristic, Nekodeus, and Proscription, to name a few.

But the debut from this international project with members of  Drowstorm, Vahrzaw, Vintertodt, Burden of Ymir, Calling of Phasmic Presence (none of which I am familiar with), and more, is slowly creeping into one of my favorites of the year in the style.

The 10-song 44 44-minute assault is downright nasty, with nods to Angelcorpse, Behemoth, Hate, and even some Epoch of Unlight, as there are some seething melodies contained in the vicious black/death that drips vehemently from every note of Verminous Contempt.

The vocals are a killer deep bellow and a super high-pitched screech (again, giving me a bit of an Epoch of Unlight vibe), and the riffs, as with most Black/Death metal, the riffs blend blacker, tremolo-picked riffs that are a bit more downtuned and militant, death metal, almost war metal styled savagery. And these guys have that balance down perfectly.

From the opener “Most Vile” to the fucking savage penultimate number “Reigning In Ruin” (closer “Oderint Dum Metuant” is an ambient close out), Verminous Contempt fires on absolutely all cylinders.

“Umbrage Earned”, “Of Fornication and Malice”, “Callous Abomination”, in particular, really go fucking hard with a really skin-peeling, viciousness that is tangible in every blistering note. And as where some bands throw in a slower, more controlled marching number, Plague Curse go for the throat for the whole album ( other than the closer). Only “Amidst the Devastation” has a very small amount of restraint amid an absolute scorcher of a debut album.

[Visit the band's website]

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