Stream Piss Vortex Future Cancer EP

Stream Piss Vortex Future Cancer EP

PISS VORTEX. This moniker is a rare gem; it sells the band in accurate terms. It’s patently absurd, but also evocative. What would a literal piss vortex be like? Disgusting and unsanitary, certainly, and possibly dangerous, but also strangely dazzling to behold. (Think of a firespout, but…y’know…piss.)

And that’s pretty much the deal with Piss Vortex’s musical personality. Their presentation leans towards self-deprecatory silliness (“I don’t remember much from that night, other than listening to Metallica and sweating a lot,” says drummer Niclas Sauffaus of the band’s first jam session), and the sounds they wring out of their instruments frequently stray from the comforts of conventional harmony to zany and cartoonish effect. But there’s something deeply compelling about this Danish band’s atonal heaving nonetheless — a weird magnetism emanating from their bone-dry tones and studiously unedited performances. Piss Vortex’s nearest sonic touchstones are scabrous future-grind acts like Brutal Truth and dissonant death metallers such as Gorguts, but the feeling you get from listening to Future Cancer, their 12-minute upcoming EP, has more in common with hardcore-derived bands such as Converge, Yautja, and fellow Scandinavians Beaten To Death. Like those bands, Piss Vortex uses a mostly-metal vocabulary to write street-level blasts of hysteria — a distinctly personal (and therefore relatable) sound, as opposed to the inhuman perspective of classic extreme metal.

And like those bands, Piss Vortex are way, way catchier than they have any right to be. Considering that it’s a second-ever release featuring an average track runtime of two minutes, Future Cancer is a riot of greasy, insidious hooks. Every tune here features at least one flip-your-desk moment (including the 32-second “Bug Chaser,” with its sardonically syncopated conclusion), but its bookends stand out as its most fully-formed and engaging tunes — check out that warpzone melody in closer “Patterns Of Recognition.” Between this EP and their self-titled debut (which landed on our 2014 Best Metal Albums list), this band is off to a hell of a running start. Time for everyone to catch up, which you can do today by streaming Future Cancer in full. Listen.

Future Cancer will be available on 4/1 via Indisciplinarian.

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