You may have noticed a small but notable crop of retro Swedeath bands progressing beyond their throwback stylings over the past few years. Necrovation was the first to make a significant paradigm shift with their 2012 self-titled full-length. Finland’s Vorum seemed poised to take the same leap after their 2013 debut, Poisoned Void, which felt like a stylistic bridge between old and new Necrovation. It lacked the creativity of those Swedes, but the potential was there. I knew some kind of transformation was afoot once I saw the cover art and curious title of this new EP, but it’s far from what I was expecting.

Instead of looking forward, Vorum is looking back…way back. Current Mouth sounds like a band’s beginning, not a next step. I keep hoping to discover that it’s actually a reissued demo. The production is thin and raw, as are the vocals, the chord progressions are primitive, and the drums pummel along at a nearly perpetual thrash pace. There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of that. Some bands can do amazing things within those confines, such as Vomitor. Vorum just isn’t at that level yet. This style of primal black/death/thrash lives and dies by the riff, and there aren’t many here to really sink your teeth into and differentiate one track from the next.

However, much like their debut, there is potential here. They certainly have the vehemence that this style needs, and that might be enough when you’re just in the mood for a good face peeling. What shows the most promise is the title track, which breaks up the tremolo with some abrasive chugging before ripping into a bout of blackened speed metal with a hint of NWOBHM melody. More of this, please.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm for Vorum’s new direction, I commend them for heading down a rockier path with a different set of challenges. If they can carve something individual and memorable into those rocks along the way instead of just crashing over them, it could be a path worth following.

[Visit the band's website]

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