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WVRM stands as one of the southern USA's latest death metal-inspired outfits that's been coming up on our radar ever since their debut full-length release back in 2014. Since then, this Greenville, South Carolina-based deathgrind quartet has released a few more albums as well as some EPs and splits being unveiled to us through Prosthetic Records. And now, their third full-length release is upon us all: presenting Colony Collapse: essentially a fourteen track, 26 minute effort full of some fast-paced chaotic metal, abrasive vox and some little eclectic quirks thrown in the mix. Mixed/mastered by Phil Pluskota (who's collaborated with Abiotic and Signs of the Swarm as well as some other core bands in the past), it's a brand new venture into some mad grind. So let's get right into it!
The first few tracks have that sorta vanilla grind feel right before the changes take place and it goes more into a faster, sometimes more Pig Destroyer-esque, other times kind of Cephalic Carnage feel with the way the guitars do that slammy chromatic riff. One thing I thought got a bit annoying/played out was the ambient background feedback in the introduction to every song. It was cool the first few times but it's literally used in every track and I'm not sure whether it was intentional or not. Also, the band throws in a bit of stuff that's kinda hit or miss, especially towards the ending where there's a whole song that's just atmosphere and background noise for some minutes. Other than those little tidbits, I really enjoyed how tracks like 'Thorn Palace' and some of the other mid-album compositions blended lightning fast grindy chaos with more brutal death vibes, as well as how some others just went all out for the sake of it.
Colony Collapse represents a few of the quirks and underlying little innovative, if outwardly brutal as hell, notes that I didn't see coming going right into this one. At the same time, though, it's deathgrind that still gets the job done sticking to its roots most of the time and, despite some fairly awkwardly timed moments or repetitive background noise sequences, it's what I expected from a release of this calibre, in a good way.
Fave Tracks: 'Anti-Democracy//Locust Breath', 'Thorn Palace'
For Fans Of: Cephalic Carnage, Insect Warfare, Nails, See You Next Tuesday
**This release is available now on multiple formats here!**
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-Review by: Dave Raffy
Musician, reviewer, fan & promoter
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