Death metal is a careful balancing act between utter chaos and frightening order, and nobody has that down better than Vulnere. On their new EP Toothed Lines, the Portland death metal assailants follow up on their debut LP Igneous with a batch of familiar, but forward-looking songs that foreshadow the band’s next steps as they fine-tune that balance. We’re premiering “Devious Indoctrination of Outer World Evil” below, which is a hell of a name and a ripper of a track.
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“This song is a total workout, with some big hooks and grooves thrown in give you some time to breathe and bang your head-probably into a sledgehammer,” says guitarist Mike Ashton. “As we release these three songs, we are saying goodbye to some of the franticness of the past and settling down with a little more structure in the future, and this song is a perfect way to say goodbye to the less structured parts brutal death metal that we love while teasing what is to come.”
Make no mistake: there’s plenty of chaos to go around–it’s just lashed into ominous structures like a caged beast still more than capable of mauling passersby. Keep your distance, however, and the maze-like complexity reveals sinister designs. Vulnere’s riffs are stuffed with intricate detail work that’s brought to life by a razor-sharp rhythm section, acting as a bedrock upon which multi-pitched vocalist Mark Smith stalks. Though indomitable on its own merits, Toothed Lines sets the stage for much more mayhem to come.
Toothed Lines releases July 21st via Total Dissonance Worship.
