Comatose Music is back with another brutal death metal release, this time, it’s American act Vulnificus, with their debut album Inclination. The band has released a few prior EPs/comps/splits and is now poised to take the next step. Vocaslist Eston Browne, I’ve known for quite some time. He was on the scorching Gigan album Multi-Dimensional Fractal-Sorcery and Super Science, back in 2013. Hell, Eston came out to see me back with Internal Bleeding at the Ohio show in 2018. He’s always high energy and just an all-around good human. Drummer and guitarist is in Dead and Dripping as well as Sentient Horror. Guitarist Jamison Parker is also in Prophecy of Suffering, and bassist Michael Jones is also in Lost to the Void.

I did not mention all the current and past bands these cats are in, but rest assured, they know brutal death metal. As a bit of an observation, you may be one of those folks who are upset that the letter I is missing from a lot of death metal song titles. If you are that person, well, I have glorious news for you. This ten-song digital promo (bonus song is an instrumental version of the song “The Internecine Incarnation”) has seven songs where the letter I is either the first, second, or third letter of the main song title. And the album name even begins with an I. What on earth is Vulnificus trying to accomplish? I am surprised the band name is not Iulnificus.

All random observations aside, Inclination opens with “Bacterial Backlash” with its slow atmospheric instrumentation before the tremendous double bass comes in and the double pounding madness starts with Eston’s frog-like gutturals, which are pretty damn terrific. I like that the band does not go right into a blast beat. The groove comes in, and the guitar tone is pretty damn heavy, and plenty of growls during this moment. Excellent drum fills and then some higher type of vocal tones, then back into that double pounding beat equipped with killer pinch harmonics. The song then gets into a slower moment with Eston letting out a perfect low growl. There’s even some guitar soloing happening towards the end of the track. When opening with a song that is over six minutes in length, playing brutal death metal, you’d better keep it interesting, and that is what the band does.

“Insurmountable Insurrection” starts with a killer double bass, then into the double pounding. The middle of the song has an outstanding rhythm section during the slower portion. It’s heavy and will get a pit started in a jiffy! “The Internecine Incarnation” has a killer isolated bass intro, then the song gets right into a blast beat, sounding very old school Suffocation-like, think the first two albums for reference. Eston really goes quite low on this number as he is intent on out-bullfrogging the bull frogs in the local pond. More pinch harmonics slice and dice their way through the listener’s ears as they are sharp and hit the mark perfectly. The blasting, at the end, showcases the band on fire with all the instruments sounding awesome.

“Inexplicably Beguiled” is another brutal song with the double pounding to open things up before the mid-paced thunderous section ignites. Various vocal tones abound, and some cool signature time changes swirl about. Excellent growls, sharp pinch harmonics, and the double pounding drums seem to be the band’s signature go-to speed, and it works. Very catchy. Very headbang worthy. The slower portion, towards the end, with the growls, is terrific, as the song trails off with the double-pounding momentum.

Inclination is just what the doctor ordered for you when it comes to brutal death metal. The music is played well, and there are plenty of tempo shifts ensuring the songs do not become monotonous. The production is great, and all the instruments and vocals are heard; nothing is getting drowned out. Vulnificus is putting the brutal death metal scene on notice with this debut album. Excellent brutality.

 

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments