(written by Islander)
Vér is the name of a quintet from Budapest, Hungary who made their public debut with a demo in September 2024. It grabbed the attention of Me Saco Un Ojo Records, which released the demo on tape early the next year. And now that same label is about one month away from releasing Vér’s debut album, A Féreg Pusztulása.
Not having heard that demo, our first impression of Vér’s music, as captured on the album, was formed by the press materials we received — such as this:
Rare in the death metal realm does a record maintain resolutely old-school influences – the squirming horror of early Cemetary, the alternating gallop & tank-tread of equally early Grave, the angular beatdown of mid-’90s Immolation, the swarming miasma of early ’90s Absu – whilst emitting an essence that it is refreshing and (re)invigorating. Such is the case with A Féreg Pusztulása.
Those same press materials also made reference to the band’s “labyrinthine mindset” in their approach to songwriting, and that rings true repeatedly over the course of the album, and definitely in the case of the album’s title song, which we’re now premiering.
“A Féreg Pusztulása” (the song) is packed to the brim with musical twists and turns, which generate changing moods and atmospheres. It begins in a way that’s berserk, ends in an extraordinarily different way, and bends around multiple corners in between.
Several things about Vér’s brand of death metal stand out quickly as this song begins. For one, their bassist is nimble-fingered and his instrument is mellow of tone. For another, their drummer is a speed demon. But what stands out most of all is the crazed nature of the opening riff (which is definitely not mellow of tone). It is indeed a riff, but it both rapidly squirms and maniacally darts.
What follows is an equally crazed bridge constructed with decapitating percussive blows and guitars that feverishly quiver and ecstatically scream. (The band repeatedly and effectively intertwine guitar tones that are caustic and crystalline.) From there Vér discharge adaptations on their riffing (which still buzzes like a swarm of demonic hornets), accompanied by gut-churning guttural foulness.
But they also briefly slow the pace and introduce eerie tonal shimmers and ominous low-end groans, as well as expressions of dismal guitar agony.
After another bout of trem-picked mania the song presents yet another change, through the introduction of a slowly swirling and clear-toned melodic solo that’s simultaneously seductive, sinister, and haunting. That solo extends and evolves, fluidly throbs and soars, and takes over the balance of the song in spellbinding fashion. The rhythm section yield the spotlight to that magical performance, but credit to them for the steady and subtle ways in which they enhance the experience.
That final segment isn’t standard fare for much of what parades today under the death metal banner, and isn’t even what you would expect from what happens in the song up to that point, but it’s further proof of how widely Vér’s inspirations range and how talented their guitarists are.
P.S. Because my Hungarian language skills are rusty (i.e., non-existent) I used an online tool to render “A Féreg Pusztulása” in English, and it came back as “The Destruction of the Worm”.
The album’s wild cover art is the work of Brad Moore. Me Saco Un Ojo will release the album on December 3rd, on CD and vinyl LP formats, and you can order it now.
Below, we’re also including a video for the album’s previously released first single, “Paranoia“. Don’t miss it!
PRE-ORDER:
https://www.mesacounojo.com/
https://mesacounojo.bandcamp.com/album/a-f-reg-pusztul-sa