The German band Vomiting Corpses was active in between 1988 and 1995. In that period, they released two demo tapes (The Call and Cold Blood), followed by a full length LP in 1995, called Coma: The Spheres Of Innocence. It was released via Invasion Records, a German sub-division of Sweden’s Black Diamond Productions (both of them are defunct in mean time). Then they split up, and some members went on to form Anasarca.
There are rumours (people say…, you know…) that Vomiting Corpses reformed, but if that’s correct, well, I have no idea. What I do know is that new US-based label Wardead Records will re-release this band’s sole full length, including the 1994-released Cold Blood-demo as bonus.
This whole compilation called Coma: The Spheres Of Innocence lasts for five quarters of an hour, which is the original album and the demo. Coma: The Spheres Of Innocence is a mostly underestimated recording. The problem might be that around that time, half of the nineties, the scene was so over-populated, so that many releases didn’t reach the audience, even though they deserved it more than others that turned mainstream. This said… What’s so different about Coma: The Spheres Of Innocence is the original approach, and still being heavily penetrated by ‘Old School’. Most bands back then played ‘Old School’ the old school-way. Some tried to experiment by adding progressive rhythms. But a couple of bands were able to create something that was based on the fundaments of the Old School, yet with a very unique, personal approach. One name, just for fun, and eternal appreciation: Torchure, probably the best renewing Old School death Metal act Germany ever housed! Anyway, Vomiting Corpses too released a superb album back then, which injects the traditional German (or more general: the European) style with own ideas. And it turns out to work very well. Throughout the whole album, each single track proves to be a unique and persuasive piece, fundamentally based on the traditional aspects of the scene: heavy riffs with pounding drum patterns, deep-throated guttural grunts, melodic yet aggressive and technically-executed leads. Keep the rough production in mind, and the variation in speed, and there you have it: the right ingredients for a cool Death epos. But it does not stop here, for the characteristic hooks, additional elements from other genres (especially the German Thrash-scene might come to mind) and other countries (both the Dutch and American scene might have been of influence), and more distinctive elements (hi-tech leads; blackish-sounding riffs à la the First Wave; groovy and catchy versus morbid and obscure; hypnotic and atmospheric Doom-Death excerpts; ominous yet intriguing intros; maintaining the basic elements and thinking forward at once; etc.) strengthen the quality of this album.
The demo Cold Blood, the bonus addition on this classic re-release, is much more Thrash-oriented, i.e. the so-called Deathrash current from that era, with more destructive, or is it deconstructive, riffs, a more energetic tempo, and a certain Pestilence-meet-Obituary-approach. At that time, Vomiting Corpses were more obscure and morbid in both sound and performance; even the tracks that re-appeared on the album are more dense and oppressing. Yet the basement is more primitive too, with a purity I do like a lot. …more to the essence, more primal… This demo as bonus isn’t but a present on top of a fabulous album!