Vomit Forth – Terrified of God (Review)

This is the second album from Vomit Forth, a death metal band from the US.

Following on from 2022’s ugly and brutal Seething Malevolence, Terrified of God contains 27 minutes of ferocious material. Vomit Forth’s new record is a hideous slab of nasty death metal carnage.

With a shorter running time by two minutes than its predecessor, yet with one extra song, (although there is an interlude included here, but at least it’s short), Terrified of God doubles down on the extremity and delivers a selection of lethal slices of unhinged violence.

Terrified of God finds Vomit Forth focused on their grisly arts, delivering a collection of songs that are ferociously heavy and crushingly brutal. They’re dark and menacing affairs, and the violent aggression is laced with threat signals that scream almost as loud as the singer roars and growls.

Like the band’s debut record, Terrified of God mixes brutal death metal with hardcore energy, (both of the old-school varieties), making for music that is just born for the live arena. These new songs refine Vomit Forth’s style in a more professional direction, while still retaining the fury and murderous intensity of the band’s core. This is mirrored by the sound of the album; the recording is not as raw and unpolished as that of Seething Malevolence, as the production values have been increased on this new platter of splatter. The end result lends the album more of a deathcore feel than the first album – think 00’s in style – although this is tempered by the brutal death metal heart of the music.

Massive chugs and punishing breakdowns bring the heaviness, blistering blast beats and serrated riffs bring the intensity, and hardcore dynamics being it all together. Rounding it all off are the harsh vocals; Vomit Forth’s singer has expanded his range and delivers the goods in no uncertain terms – from deep gutturals to piercing screams, his voice hits the spot. There are even a scarce few semi-cleans this time, deployed at key moments.

The latest iteration of Vomit Forth is brutally heavy and unforgiving. The band have managed to focus and refine their assault further down into brief outbursts of violence, yet within this have expanded their sound, giving them additional weapons with which to attack.

Terrified of God is an album that could have come out in the 00s, only it boasts a more contemporary production. At its simplest, think of it as a savage mix of older Cannibal Corpse, Defeated Sanity, Suicide Silence, and Dying Fetus, with a few creative flourishes thrown in here and there. Think of this and be happy, as Terrified of God is effortlessly good fun.

Very highly recommended.