Author: Primož Novak
Artist: Abysmal Dawn
Label: Relapse Records
Release: year_month
Runtime: 48:00
Rating: 4/5
In more than ten years together, California’s Abysmal Dawn have never really broken through to a wide audience. There are countless death metal bands out there, and to stand out you have to do something truly special, like Nile managed to do. Abysmal Dawn, on the other hand, are pretty typical representatives of today’s death metal, which is defined by speed and technicality.
Since their last album, Abysmal Dawn have added another guitarist to the lineup, which is a pretty big deal these days when it comes to playing live. They kick off the album without compromise. There’s no pompous intro here; the very first track, Human Obsolescence, shows you exactly what to expect from the record. Fast riffs, blast beats and growling vocals take center stage, nothing new for death metal, but they fit the aggressive riffs nicely. Luckily, Abysmal Dawn don’t overdo the all-out speed, which keeps them clear of the »generic brutal death metal« label. Here and there they show a bit of a feel for slowing things down, which gives the record more variety, and the mid-tempo sections sound groovier. Still, it holds true for Abysmal Dawn that they don’t do compromises, so don’t expect any sugarcoating.
The most interesting thing is that Abysmal Dawn are well aware of the influential bands that left their mark on the development of death metal. You can hear the influence of Deicide, Morbid Angel and, of course, Suffocation all over the record. Since the band likes to stress the technical side too, you can also hear echoes of the likes of Hate Eternal, Nile and Origin, but it never gets overblown, so don’t expect heaps of neoclassical shredding in the style of Necrophagist. The solos are nicely woven into the songs, but they don’t exactly stand out. The one exception might be the solo in Perfecting Slavery, contributed by Christian Muenzner (Alkaloid, ex-Obscura).
Abysmal Dawn close the album with The Inevitable Return To Darkness, which is slower in nature and wraps up on a more melodic note, a pleasant breather after all that brutalizing and one more bit of variety for the record. As a bonus, the band throws in a great cover of Dissection’s Night’s Blood.
Obsolescence is a must-have for every death metal fan. The band smartly blends elements of old-school and modern death metal while building its own identity, though it’ll take another album or two to really nail that down.
Lineup
Andy Nelson – guitar, vocals
Eliseo Garcia – bass, vocals
Scott Fuller – drums
Charles Elliot – vocals, guitar
Production
Charles Elliot, John Haddad (mixing, mastering)
Tracklist
1. Human Obsolescence
2. Perfecting Slavery (guest Christian Muenzer)
3. Inanimate
4. Devouring the Essence of God (guest Bobby Koelble)
5. One Percent Incomplete
6. Loathed in Life / Praised in Death
7. By My Demons
8. Laborem Liberat Te
9. The Inevitable Return to Darkness
10. Night’s Blood (Dissection cover)
