Rancorum – The Vermin Shrine

Every now and again, you come across a band that is clearly heavily inspired by some other band. There is nothing unusual about this, since every musician I have ever talked to or heard of have admitted to having preferences themselves and drawing inspiration from said sources – And granted, dues to the nature of popularity, some bands happen to be drawn upon more often as an influence as others.

In the case of Romanian-based Rancorum, however, I have no doubt that one of their big-time influences are the legendary Bolt Thrower, based solely upon their musical approach to traditional Death Metal – Like the legends of old, Rancorum has managed to cobble together a string of songs (six in this case), crank the volume, distortion and aggression up to eleven, slap on a growl track and keep the simplistic, yet surprisingly effective riffs coming for nearly forty minutes straight.

Granted, the Romanian quintet also diverge on several areas, such as being considerably faster-paced, which is more in line with the modern interpretation of Death Metal – Something that makes sense, considering that Rancorum was founded in 2014 as well as having a strong emphasis on philosophy, politics and society as a whole; All of which is subjected to the well-known scrutiny that only a Death or a Thrash Metal band can deliver.

All in all, if I hadn’t already known that The Vermin Shrine was the debut album of Rancorum, I could easily have been fooled into thinking that this band was significantly older and more experienced than is actually the case. They know exactly what they are doing and they are hell-bent on doing it properly – Something that the track ”Bedlam of Saints” will attest (Music video link attached as proof).

Recommended for fans of Benediction, Bolt Thrower and Obituary.

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