VRENTH – Baptism Death / CD JEWELCASE

In 2020, Vrenth released their first full-length, Baptism Death, a short-and-sweet ritual bludgeoning of grimy death metal, and follow-up Succumb to Chaos continues right where that one left off. Reminiscent of Witch Vomit, Vrenth sounds like they compose their death metal by starting with a base of violent thrash, a base that they then inject with steroids and meth, feed through a meat grinder, then infuse with tortured souls via the uttering of occult Incantations. Opening track “Omnipresence (Mors Certa/Hora Incerta)” kicks things off perfectly with some burly riffing, frantic drumming, and the sickening grunts of vocalist Mike Nelson. But just when you think you can predict where the song is going, the band transitions to a bouncing thrash riff for a while, and then dials the groove up even further into a rhythm that would feel at home on a crossover record. A touch of atmosphere rears its head before a fantastic solo passage ushers us into the track’s more aggressive death metal second half. Right off the bat, Vrenth are showing us that they’re more than a one-trick pony.