Band:	Abstracter
Album:	Wound Empire
Style:	Death doom metal, Sludge metal
Release date:	February 10, 2015
A review by:	Ilham

01. Lightless
02. Open Veins
03. Cruciform
04. Glowing Wounds

Someone should call Textures, ask them to relinquish their name and let Abstracter use it instead.

Because there is very little abstraction in Wound Empire. Only concrete, palpable density. A density achieved by the expert layering of the production, and the choice of playing a savant mélange of the thickest genres around, namely sludge, doom, and a few chunks of post-metal. The result is a very atmospheric, melancholic, and heavy record that only relies on the best deep harsh vocals, subtle amplifying effects, heavy riffing and omnipresent cymbals to solidify the said atmosphere. Simple, yet not simplistic.

As it is more or less expected, the album unravels slowly, building tension in ten minute-long tracks with crushing passages that act as pressure valves for all that accumulated steam. Unfortunately, the listener that so gladly lost him(her)self in the impenetrable fog of the first half of the album eventually learns how to navigate within the mist, and finds the way back to the shore a bit too easily. Those of you who are familiar with the big names of atmospheric sludge and blackened sludge/doom might not even get lost in the first place. Nevertheless, it would be a crime to refuse to let go of reality and miss the short contemplative journey that is Wound Empire solely because other albums can take you on a similar cruise.

To sever the mooring line, click here.