Vitriolic Baptism - Embryectomy
Score: 2/5 - Not For Me, But Not Atrocious
Slam Death Metal · Released October 23rd, 2026 · Unique Leader Records
Vitriolic Baptism is the type of music that makes you want to rip someone apart in the pit. “Progeny Shredder” as an opener probably kills live, and the entire album sounds like it would be a blast live, jumping in the pit, knocking some skulls around, ya know… the usual. It doesn’t make for the most enjoyable listening experience, though, when you’re chilling at home, driving in the car, etc. This is one of those albums that is best experienced in person.
Most of the album is played slow, dark, fucked up, and brutal, with flashes of speed and flair. The riffs impose a feeling of impending doom and demand a two-step in the pit, with the drums mostly staying status quo but still elevating the tracks. I also loved the sound bites tossed into some of the tracks! I was just recently talking to my best friend about how I missed the era of Metal when bands were throwing random movie/TV/gaming sound bites into their tracks. Let’s bring some whimsy back to the genre!
The vocals unfortunately are not my cup of tea. The lows sound like the vocalist has a never-ending burp that has been stuck in his throat for weeks. I normally wouldn’t be the one to say “man, I can’t understand a word they’re saying” when talking about Metal music, as I usually can decipher, but I gotta be real… there’s no making anything out lyrically here. It feels like the focus was just “make this sound as guttural and disgusting as possible - fuck the lyrics”. The next thing I’ll bring up has no bearing on the music, but man… I hated looking at the album art every time I looked at my music player hahaha there’s “Metal”, and then there’s just off-putting and trying to be edgy and shocking in an era where GWAR and Cannibal Corpse already pushed the envelope enough for all of us. I know the whole thing is tongue-in-cheek, but it just feels overdone at this point…
Before I leave you, I just want to call out that I loved that “Progeny Shredder” sounded like sludge passing through a straw. Give it a listen, and you’ll know exactly what I mean. Finally, the ending of “Ecumenical Lobotomy” has a fun Mortal Kombat reference that made me chuckle and appreciate the song a bit more.
If you like slow, sludgey, grimy Metal with questionable subject matter, give it a spin despite it not being for me!
Score: 2/5
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Kenny’s been obsessed with heavy music since age 10. IT pro by day, reviewer by night. More about me and the scoring scale