Verminous - The Unholy Communion

I still remember the debut CD "Impious Sacrilege" of the Swedish death metal horde Verminous released via Xtreem Music in 2003. It was a solid slab of old school death/black metal worshipping the sound of legendary names like Entombed, Unleashed, Grave,etc. Ten years later here they come again with the second album titled "The Unholy Communion".

One thing becomes clear right after the start of the opening track (not counting the intro) 'Keepers Of Chaos' - besides some minor line-up changes (bassist Simon Frodeberg is no longer in the band), the ten years long pause haven't changed Vermimous at all. Andreas Johansson (drums), Pelle Melander (guitars) and Linus Bjorklund (guitars/vocals) deliver nine tracks of dirty, raw and blasphemous Swedish death metal. "Unholy Communion" doesn't differ that much from its predecessor "Impious Sacrilege". Again your ears are ripped apart by fast and furious songs filled with venomous spite towards christian religion. Titles like 'I.N.R.I. (Iesus Nazarene Rex Insectus)', 'Glorious Sacrilege' or 'Immersed In Semen' speak enough for themselves. Verminous don't place all their bets entirely on the sheer speed - their tracks have lots of mid-tempo parts that give more groove to the overall brutality. 'In The Name' and 'Verminous Fluids - Part 2' are predominantely slow but this doesn't mean that they don't have the blood-thirsty power of the faster pieces. The production is on a good level and you will have no problem to hear what happens exactly with the guitar riffs or the drum patterns. Linus' vocals remind me of Entombed ("Clandestine" era) which in my book is a definitive plus.

So that's what is "The Unholy Community" - one piece of oldschool Swedish death/black metal paying tribute to the extreme heroes of the early 90's but released in 2013. Since there are many fans of the genre I'm sure Verminous' music will reach its audience. Check out also Verminous' EP " The Curse Of The Antichrist" with one new song and two covers of Nuclear Assault and Nihilist.


1. Intro
2. Keepers Of Chaos
3. I.N.R.I. (Iesus Nazarene Rex Insecta)
4. Hordes Ov Vermin
5. In The Name
6. Glorious Sacrilege
7. Verminous Fluids - Part 2
8. Old Is The Shadow Of Death
9. Immersed In Semen
10.The Gospel Of Verminous