Many, many years ago, I was a professional video game critic. I was on staff at a video game magazine and I was paid, among other things, to play video games and share my opinions of them. An untold number of years later, I'm once again playing the critic role (although no one is paying me for my opinions at the moment!), and I am reminded of the differences of consuming media as a fan and as a critic. There is indeed a difference - critics are expected to have a wider breadth of knowledge about the art form they write about, and once you start shifting into critic mode, it's difficult to turn it off for recreational consumption. One of the duties of the critic, of course, is to spend time with art that might not be a perfect match to their individual tastes. Sometimes that means spending time with art that you genuinely dislike. Sometimes, that means discovering something you enjoy that you might not have otherwise. Such is the case with me and Vorara, the debut album by Chicago's Become Death. 

As I have written many, many times before, I don't naturally gravitate to death metal or black metal. At some point, I'll just stop saying that because I keep finding albums in both subgenres that I genuinely enjoy. Typically, these are bands that come at the genre from a sideways angle, and you can add Become Death to that list. There is a fair amount of straight-ahead death metal here (the album closes with a cover of Cannibal Corpse's "I Cum Blood), but most of the record mixes in other elements, like prog and psychedelic rock. Become Death is very, very good at the death metal crush, but in my mind the album is at its most engaging when the other elements are brought to the front. 

Vorara opens with "Fan Fiction," a blistering combination of death metal and hardcore that, in true hardcore tradition, is pretty explicit in its political opinions: "You cannot deny your urge to blame / Those you claim are a 'surge of invaders' / And strip them of their rights / As anything other than a fourth Reich." Political opinions continue to appear over the course of the album - the lyrics of "I Cum Blood" have been reworked to spit some hate at the MAGA movement, and I'm all for it. 

In my Metal Dudes text chain, there's an ongoing debate/inside joke about the merits of saxophone in heavy metal, and like fellow Chicago band REZN, Become Death are a strong argument for the "Pro Sax" team. Especially on the title track "Vorara," the instrument is wielded to add a touch of space-rock atmospherics. That song also features a combination of harsh and clean vocals, both of which are submerged in the mix to give it a borderline doomgaze vibe. But don't worry, death metal traditionalists, there's no skimping on the blast beats here. "Vorara" is followed up with "Vertigo Integration," an almost-six minute instrumental track that also pairs space-rock vibes with big riffs and more slyly deployed sax. 

Albums like Vorara are what make this return trip to criticism so much fun. As a "civilian" music fan, I probably wouldn't have checked this album out, or may have never even come across it in the first place. But, in this role, I see it as my responsibility to give things a fair shot. When I find something that excites me, especially something that hasn't received as much attention as it deserves, well then it's my great honor to write about that work of art. Vorara is an exciting debut album, and I'll be eager to check out whatever Become Death does next. 

Vorara by Become Death released digitally and CD on July 3, 2026. Both versions are available on their Bandcamp page.