Hailing from New York, Vomit Fist emerged, mewling and screaming from the underground, in 2013. A three-piece, the band comprises guitarist Nick Didkovsky, drummer Leo Didkovsky (Nick’s son) and vocalist Malcolm Spraggs Hoyt. This core trio are joined by Samuel Smith (Artificial Brain, Luminous Vault) and Jon Ehlers (Bangladeafy), who add bass to two tracks, as well as Alex Giesel, who provides second guitar on the twenty-second bonus track, Mind-artifact Espionage. Omnicide is the band’s sophomore effort, following on from the blistering debut, Forgive But Avenge and it offers up nine tracks, which, in true grind fashion, range from a matter of seconds to just over five-minutes in length. Packaged in a handsome digipack, complete with stunning cover art (Paolo Girardi), it is an epic and frequently surprising record that showcases an impressive attention to detail.
Barely registering, thanks to its ferocious brevity, Sleep Paralysis opens the record amidst a brutal melee of snatched riffing and scorched-earth vocals. It’s over before you’ve even realised it’s started, leaving you with a sore neck and a mild case of bewilderment. The stabbing Flies Choke The Grove, although darker in aspect, is barely any longer, it’s blackened riff and harrowing vocals well placed to add a sense of unease to the band’s unhinged oeuvre. Even after two such bristling pieces, Cleanser, which clocks in at seventeen seconds in length, proves surprising, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it slice of white hot fury condensed into the shortest of assaults, it perfectly epitomises the hit-and-run tactics of grind. In contrast, the lengthy battering of Single-Minded Annihilation stands as the album’s high point. The band impressively sustain the intensity, whilst adding new sonic elements to the mix, Nick’s guitars veering between blackened grind and post-metal ambience with fluid confidence. It’s an epic track that is worth the price of admission alone, and it sits at the black heart of this short album, giving greater meaning to that which surrounds it. It’s followed up by the stair-stepping guitar work of an unexpectedly complex Mass Mutation, underscoring the musicianship that the band can bring to bear.
Another album highlight, the seething Remnant Light sees the band exploring their black metal passions, managing to inject melodies of surprising depth into the cornucopia of icy riffs and scabrous vocals. It plays out over a mere three minutes, but in ensuring that their music never outstays its welcome, Vomit Fist ensure the listener always wants more. It’s followed by the relentless (and mercifully brief) hammer to the cranium that is Death Process, a moment of pure, old-school grind that flashes past in just twenty-three seconds. In contrast, the brief Overgrowth hints at a love of Sonic Youth with its twisted chords and avant-melody. The track segues into the brilliantly titled Choir Of The Submerged Church, maintaining the avant-garde sound of its predecessor whilst injecting blackened elements reminiscent of Thurston Moore’s beloved Mayhem into the mix. For any other band it would be the perfect closer to an album that consistently delights in wrong-footing the listener. However, as if to restate their grind credentials, Vomit Fist leave a twenty-second bonus track in the form of Mind-artifact Espionage, administering one last vicious beating to the brutalised listener just as they are lurching out of the door.
Vomit Fist stand proud in a long line of exceptional bands hailing from the great city of New York. A city that has long appeared to instil a sense of wilful experimentation into all those who operate within its borders, New York’s pivotal role in the American psyche can scarcely be understated and Vomit Fist, their magnificently unpleasant name notwithstanding, uphold this tradition perfectly. With Omnicide, Vomit Fist have crafted a record that, within its short run time, takes in grind, black, death and alternative metal, barely pausing for breath and always keeping the listener guessing as to what’s coming next. High points abound, although the monstrous ebb and flow of Single-Minded Annihilation is arguably the album’s most impressive moment. A genuinely original release amidst a sea of interchangeable extremity, Omnicide is a fantastically frantic release that takes the listener to the edge and keeps them there for the duration. 9.5/10
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