Vengeful
Karma
7.9
Since Stéphane Paré of Quo Vadis heads Disconcert Music, it’s only natural to assume that a portion of the label’s releases would be Canadian and technical, and in the case of Vengeful, that is indeed correct. Here we have an adept death metal band from Montreal (R.I.P. Expos), featuring former members of Minds and Atheretic, with about half the drum contributions courtesy of Despised Icon’s Alexandre Pelletier. Now, what sets Karma apart from the slew of other likeminded releases is its willingness to experiment with different kinds of vocals and clean guitar. Otherwise, this full-length debut simply measures up to its competitors instead of dwarfing them.
During the course of Karma, one can hear multiple vocal styles such as scratchy screams, guttural growls, and a couple variations in between. The two-minute opener “Sentenced” is more grind-oriented than any of the other songs, while “Cold Ways” and “Burial” adopt a loose tech death approach. It seems the group could break into grind, tech death, or deathcore at any time without missing a beat. “Counterfeit,” which clocks in at over ten minutes total, is the beast of the record though the occasional utilization of the stop/start method lessens the momentum. At 1:55, acoustic guitar jumps into the fray. Speaking of unexpected occurrences, the mid-section is laced with a blackened vibe, which remains in place until the song’s demise. Though piano-laden at first, “Burial Pt. 2” is a crusher for a decent amount of time, whereas “Cleansing” mirrors “Sentenced” as far as grind-esque length is concerned. Also of note is the clean guitar in “Tempted” and “Mortem Obire” – the latter a five-minute outro saturated with Latin-flavored guitar. Nevertheless, it proves difficult to place Vengeful on a specific branch of the death metal tree when the term death metal encapsulates them just fine, if not better than any subcategory could.
Still, the genre-blending may turn some listeners off as well as the stopping and starting in certain songs. Vengeful aren’t exactly the epitome of memorable, either. But is Karma worth the money you earned pimping into the late morning hours? Probably. Is it essential, though? Probably not.
