Review: Vrenth ‘Succumb To Chaos’

Spewed out of the hell-mouth and landing straight in Amboy, California, the death metal cenobites Vrenth return with their second full-length record titled Succumb To Chaos, an apt title for this absolute barn burner of a record. If you enjoy getting mauled within an inch of your life, then this might be for you, it’s being released on September 5th by the good folks over at Rotted Life which always means it comes with a good seal of quality!

If you want more indications of quality before you reach deep into your cobweb filled pockets to find the few remaining quid left after your gas and electric bill, then just look at the bands this quintet have played in! Funebrarum, Ruin, Ascended Dead, Gravehill, Dead Conspiracy, and VoidCeremony… an absolute goldmine of barbarity and progressive deliciousness. Then there is the artwork, an amorphous blob of shapeshifting gore, full of tendrils, tendrils with eyes, more tendrils, and, most of all, terrifying madness… I love it!

So you’re surely sold now… right? Well, if not then let’s get down to the important bit… the music! It’s a cold, bleak, and sharp affair, Vrenth churn up an utterly malevolent sound, unrepentant in its brutality and technically astute. There’s very little not to like, although my eardrums may have something different to say.

The five-piece bring murderous riffs and combine them together with absolute pulverising drums to decimate the listener in about 5000 different ways…

The five-piece bring murderous riffs and combine them together with absolute pulverising drums to decimate the listener in about 5000 different ways. The riffs on Demise In Hollow Suffering are so meaty it’d take an entire country of butchers to pick them apart. Also, the record features some absolute ripping solos across the record, which are utterly frantic and full of character.

It’s safe to say I wouldn’t want to meet vocalist Mike Nelson in a dark alley, the dudes’ vocals are terrifying, an absolutely perfect fit to the brutality on display. It’s a repent-less performance and that for me is the best bit of the record. I loved the gargled howls on Nelson’s other project, and I’m stoked to hear them on here too.

To be honest, I don’t really need to sum up here, I said at the very start, this is an absolute barn burner and definitely worth your time. In a bloated year for extreme music, this one should be getting some love for being a solid ass release.

Label: Rotted Life Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Scribed by: Matt Alexander