Hey there tech fiends, it's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual reminder that if you're looking for more sick music, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
Today we return to the demented music of The Aftermath, an intriguing Canadian group who is set to release their posthumous swansong Vermine this Friday through PRC Music and we’ve got the full early stream of it for you below. I hope some of you heard the early song premiered here from it called “The Void”, but if this is your first introduction to The Aftermath, I’ll briefly recap what the group is up to sonically. What I said when discussing the "The Void" holds true throughout the record, it is “unorthodox and chaotic”, and indeed calls to mind “Ion Dissonance, Beneath The Massacre, and First Fragment fused with a strong Severed Savior dose of over the top twisted brutality. Supporting this grand mass of chaos are flourishes of dissonant black metal inflected grind spurts akin to Plebeian Grandstand.” Vermine is an impressive and terrifying melding of different worlds, designed to trample, disturb, and befuddle any who cross its path.
The group favors an interesting approach to their sonic stew, maximizing as many unique passages per song in the shortest amount of time, in line with their supporting technical grindcore elements really. There isn’t a single song on here that cracks the four-minute mark, and over half of the songs don’t even hit the three-minute mark. But, with the music being this nutty and dense, brevity is welcomed and embraced as a winning trait. Vermine clocks in at just over 24 minutes, on paper that sounds like an EP, but there is enough in each song here to fit what most tech-death groups fill an album twice as long with.
No matter how many times I spin Vermine I never tire of it, it’s ferocity and unorthodox approach keeps calling me back, and I’m frequently catching new things with each fresh listen. There is a lot to unpack from start to finish, making this the sort of album that damn near requires an investment in time and asks of you your full attention so as to not miss it’s frenzied onslaught constantly switching gears and venturing ever onwards into fresh ideas in each compact song. Without a doubt, this is one of the best tech-death albums I’ve heard this year, and I am certain it will be one of my favorites for the year by the time 2018 comes to an end. If you’re enjoying the album after hitting play on the early stream below, you can pre-order Vermine through PRC Music. Be sure to follow the group over on The Aftermath Facebook page also.
