Band:	Absent In Body
Album:	Plague God
Style:	Post-metal, Atmospheric sludge metal
Release date:	March 2022

01. Rise From Ruins
02. In Spirit In Spite
03. Sarin
04. The Acres/The Ache
05. The Half Rising Man

The connection of Amenra to Neurosis has been a longstanding one, so it’s not surprising that it’s ultimately culminated in a full-blown collaboration.

Initially started as the brainchild of Amenra guitarist Mathieu Vandekerckhove and Neurosis guitarist/vocalist Scott Kelly, Colin Van Eeckhout (also Amenra) was subsequently brought into the fold on vocals and bass, with the line-up eventually rounded out by Iggor Cavalera. As far as ‘supergroup’ line-ups go, this is about as enticing as it gets, and it’s also one that’s taken its time to realize its vision, with debut full-length Plague God arriving a full five years after “Absent In Body”, the first 20-minute indication of what this project was going to offer to the world.

Now, Neurosis and Amenra both have very distinctive sounds, and hallmarks of those projects can be heard across Plague God, such as the sinister, plodding intensity early in “In Spirit In Spite” or the spoken word and quiet, clean guitar later in the track that is even closer to Amenra, as well as the Neurosis-esque tribal percussive introduction to “The Acres/The Ache” and surprisingly tonally uplifting clean sung section later in this song. However, at its release, “Absent In Body” exhibited an industrial quality and electronic inclination that neither of the primary participants’ main bands delve into, and Plague God very much remains in the same vein.

If I were to compare another group to Absent In Body, I’d be inclined to mention Vous Autres, who also use industrial sounds and rhythms within a sludgy context. However, there’s more of a miserable, sullen trudge to most of Plague God than what that French duo concoct. In terms of projects that the members have been involved in, this is arguably closer to Corrections House than Kelly’s work in Neurosis, save a few patches here and there. Something that also surprises me about this album is how the vocals sound; I’ve listened to a lot of Neurosis and Amenra, so I’m very well-acquainted with the different styles Kelly and Van Eeckhout have used on their albums, but I can never remember either producing such infernal, cavernous growls/roars as appear on this album, which leaves me very curious as to who is responsible for these sounds (there are some more obviously CHVE screams that also appear, so maybe Kelly is the one unleashing these growls).

The combination of all of this is a grim, oppressive record with a huge lower end in the mix and emphatic percussion, especially on “Sarin”. However, it’s one that does also have a lighter side, one that, like with Amenra, arguably feels even more impactful on the likes of “In Spirit In Spite” and “The Acres/The Ache” because of how intense the sound is otherwise. The quieter side isn’t always lighter, however, between the noisy ominous guitar sounds opening “The Acres/The Ache” and the dark ambient malevolence of closing track “The Half Rising Man”.

As to how it stacks up against the legacies of the individuals involved with its release, Plague God is a strong enough album to stand as its own achievement independent of the people behind it, which is more than I’m inclined to say about a lot of supergroups. It’s not as impactful as something like last year’s De Doorn record from Amenra, but the combination of industrial and post-metal is a rather enticing one, and it’s a fusion that is well executed by Absent In Body.