Festering Odes to Deformity

You can probably guess what Caustic Vomit and their debut demo “Festering Odes to Deformity” sounds like. Their craggy doom/death is dark, filthy, and it thinks your liver looks tasty. And with punishing subterranean gloom in mind, don't expect your worldview to change, but do expect your innards to be violated. “Immured in Devouring Rot” gives us several sections of monolithical chugging followed with some slow-mo blasting, which is the template for what follows. We are pushed along at a quicker clip during most of ‘Churning Bowel Tunnels,’ which works its way into crusty rhythms and some neckbreaking grooves. And for the lovingly titled ‘Once Coffinated Malformities’ the group employs lead guitars more prominently, resulting in heightened sense of drama. I reckon that those moments are the highlight of the record for me. Another positive is that the band doesn’t linger on for too long with any riff, instead choosing to show us that they have plenty of good ones to spare. Of special mention are the vocals, which are pretty creepy in that they sound like a whisper instead of a growl. I suffer from sleep paralysis, and said vocals are not far off from when the commonly described ‘evil presence’ (lurking just out of sight) speaks softly but malevolently into your ear as you struggle to move. But sleep paralysis never stops being novel, while Caustic Vomit does not seek to be. Keeping this at EP length is also great idea, because it leaves the listener hungry for more. I think unless you are planning to create a totally awe-inspiring recording, a half hour seems pretty reasonable and non-portentous.

Originally Published for Melalegion Megazine