Immune To Them – Vomit The Chains EP

Artist: Immune To Them

Title: Vomit The Chains

Release: EP / Digital

Year: 2024

Label: Romantic Songs Recordings, Hecatombe Records

The Spanish grindcore scene has been exceptionally good and active lately, with both well established and promising bands like Convulsions, Nashgul, Horrible, Vilmort, and many others. It seems there is a strong momentum, reminiscent of the fierce mince/crust/noise wave of the ’90s in the country. Hailing from Cádiz, Spain, and formed in 2022, Immune To Them is one of these up-and-coming bands, bringing their own distinct vision of grindcore, much like the bands mentioned above.

Immune To Them’s debut EP, Vomit the Chains, released in collaboration with Romantic Songs Recordings and Hecatombe Records, marks a powerful start. The EP blends crusty grindcore, extreme metal, and old-school hardcore punk into an incendiary mix. The five-track EP demonstrates the band’s unapologetic old-school approach while delivering a modern, politically charged, and brutal sound in an overly saturated scene. The guitar tone is raw and chainsaw-like, reminiscent of the Swedish death metal and crust punk scenes of the ’90s, evoking bands like Driller Killer, Disfear, Totalitär, Entombed, and Grave with the famous Sunlight Studio guitar sound.

Antonio’s guitar work is exceptional, blending catchy crustcore, raw grind madness, and familiar hardcore punk riffs reminiscent of USHC classics like Negative Approach and Sheer Terror. This hardcore approach complements Eugenio’s varied vocal styles, maintaining a dark and diverse atmosphere. The rhythm section, with Rober on bass and Dani on drums, provides a solid backdrop for varying levels of brutality. Rober’s buzzing bass lines amplify Antonio’s riffs, while Dani’s drumming effortlessly switches between styles, from d-beat, hardcore, and crust punk to grindcore and fierce blastbeats.

Thematically, Vomit The Chains is intensely political, influenced by Spain’s strong mincecore tradition with bands like Denak, Violent Headache, Ulzera, Proyecto Terror, and Disturbance Project. Immune To Them draws from their local scene and incorporates all those different influences, creating a diverse and powerful release. The EP addresses themes such as the rise of neo-fascism, the horrors of war, and the tyrannical state’s institutional power. Despite the dark and nihilistic tone, the underlying message is one of resistance and insurrection against inequality, divisions, and hierarchies. The title also reflects their disgust and rejection of the oppressive systems they despise. The artwork by Makabre Design captures the spirit of the release, metaphorically illustrating the act of breaking free from the mental chains imposed by state institutions, social norms, and neoliberal doctrine.