
Vermin to the Earth returns to the formula of faster, blasted passages and slower, rocking rhythms redolent of influences like Darkthrone, Burzum and Bathory, but this is all wrought in a clean, shadowy package that feels constantly like a sun setting across a barren desert. About half the tracks feel functional but average, with firm textures of desolation but no real standout riffs; whereas the other half have something more to offer. "Oblivion" is a good example of one of the album's more potent pieces, with slowly churning black/rock rhythms slathered in echoing rasps, but a few jarring twists to the guitar that keep the listener on the edge of his/her seat. A few other choice tracks include the spacey, sobering "Vita Vacuus Voluntas", the shining and versatile "Plague of Man" and the haunting slog that is "Ecstasy not of the Flesh". In fact, the latter half of the album seems to focus more on slower music adorned in crisp, ringing guitars, but measured blast beats are often thrown in to prevent a gray monotony from setting in.
I understand that uniformity is likely a quality held high for this project, and this explains the flush similarity to the debut album, but I would have liked to hear Tom Void and company try some more intense twists to this expanse of concentrated emptiness. One need not stick wholly to the orthodox instrumentation with this sort of record: added keys, percussion or local folk instruments would do much to dress up some of the bleaker vistas. Vermin to the Earth is a solid, fulfilling effort to say the least, with an excellent polish to the production that never feels overly processed. Thrall really lets its audience feel each kick, each note, and each rasp of torment contributing to this swaggering course of oblivion. But I'm not sure the same trick is going to work thrice, so I hope next time out for an added sheen of variation to the Australians' firm fundamentals.
Verdict: Win [7.25/10]
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