Deus Vermin - MMXXII

Labels: Self-Released

Formats: Tape/Digital

Release Date: 05 May 2022

Tracklist:

1. Mute

2. Vision

3. Coward

4. Harm

I came home from work today to find that the blog's hit a significant milestone. Said milestone is just a number though and it's not the reason I started the blog in the first place. The reason was because of bands like Deus Vermin. They're a band I've been lucky enough to see live on multiple occasions in Leeds and have always enjoyed greatly. Coming four years after their full-length Monument To Decay they released their latest EP MMXXII. I missed it on initial release but it's been on my list to write about for a little while now and I couldn't let it pass me by any longer.

Deus Vermin have always been about dark imagery and bleak heaviness (you only have to look at the artwork that adorns their releases). How such warm hearted souls can produce such music still dumbfounds me. EP opener ‘Mute’ heralds a step into more avant-garde territory for the band, amongst their already stellar blackened/death/post-metal sound. There’s nothing pretentious about the music though, just genuine progression that shows how strong they are as a musical collective.

‘Vision’ exemplifies what I’ve just said with a metallic/blasting approach that’s hard to shy away from. Like Eyeteeth in my last review, Deus Vermin are showing that the UK is very much a continual driving force when it comes to heavy music. The dynamics of intense percussion, thunderous bass, dark yet mesmerising guitar work and ice-laden vocals are brought to life via the recording of Deus Vermin’s CG and the mastering of Vagrant Studios.

This EP is one that dispenses with meandering songs and instead proves that less is more. ‘Coward’ is probably the closest DV come to truly blasting/slamming death metal and it’s the most exhilarating two minutes of extremity you’ll have heard for sometime. DV were one of four UK bands that appeared on the 2022 label sampler from India’s Transcending Obscurity Records (that featured 24 bands in total). I hope this means there’ll be a collaboration between both parties in the future.

EP closer ‘Harm’ lives up to it’s name perfectly, with a song that signals the intent of Deus Vermin going forward. A deathly, cold mix of extreme metal textures alongside an assured delivery that buries itself deep when listening. Even when the tempo slows, the atmosphere stays as dank and the focus remains as strong. With the strength of the current death metal community in the UK and the ever-upward growth of black metal too, Dues Vermin have set out a stall that’s gonna prove hard to shift. It’ll be very exciting to see what comes next.

You can stream and purchase 'MMXXII' as both a name your price download and also on tape (while copies of the second press are still available) below:-

Deus Vermin - https://www.facebook.com/DeusVermin

Deus Vermin - Monument To Decay

Labels: Self-Released/FHED Records

Formats: Digital/Tape

Release Date: 14 June 2018

Tracklist:

1. -

2. Swarms

3. Iniquity

4. Worms

5. Shrine

6. Planetary Illness

Less than a year after their "MMXVII" Demo, Leeds black/death band Deus Vermin have returned with a new EP. It was self-released digitally by the band on limited tape by FHED Records earlier this month. They've recently played Edinburgh, Newcastle and Hull with one of Edinburgh's newest black metal hordes Ulr, in support of their EP and have been getting a lot of praise from many corners of the Interweb.

It’s sweltering here and I’m not sure listening to black/death metal will cool me down much. The opening song on “Monument To Decay”, simply called - is a noisy instrumental, which is as jarring and an unbearable as the heat of the day. It make complete sense though given the intensity that Deus Vermin creates as they blast into Swarms. The metallic edge of the guitars, the barrage of percussive abuse, the thunderous bass and those possessed growls stoke the fire that was started with their demo and helps in burn with even more vigour. The music is surprisingly fast, especially given the bands that these guys previously called home. Iniquity is definitely more on the death metal side of things with passages containing a ridiculous amount of double bass. Even when they slow the tempo and turn up the atmospherics, the music is still a menacing and unwieldy beast (in the best possible way). “Monument To Decay” is more than a step forward for Deus Vermin, as the recording, mixing and mastering of Tom Dring (Vagrant Recordings) demonstrates. 

Worms is a finely crafted signal of intent. It sounds huge and again shows off the band’s death metal chops. There are so many facets and twists to it that only multiple listens will reveal them fully, which is the same for the entire EP. The grinding intensity of penultimate song Shrine is mystifying, as it’s off-kilter structure tears into your synapse and your soul. It’s worth it for the heavy breakdown-like riffs at the 02:50 mark alone. They leave it till the end to unleash the expansive Planetary Illness, which given its title shouldn’t be anything less. The mighty instrumental build-up leads into a raging beast of a song that encompasses the musical skill and creativity of the band in their entirety. The freedom of expression and the passion that seems to be so prevalent amongst Northern band and especially those from Leeds is exhibited here in spades. This EP is a throwing down of the metaphorical gauntlet to those more established, as Deus Vermin has written something that could crush almost all of them. 

You can stream and download "Monument To Decay" directly via Deus Vermin's bandcamp page below:-

Dues Vermin - https://www.facebook.com/DeusVermin/

You can buy tape copies (while stocks last) from FHED Records below:-

https://fhed.bandcamp.com/merch

FHED Records - https://www.facebook.com/FxHxExD/