Abscession - Grave Offerings - review
Abscession - Grave Offerings - review
Tracklist
01. Where Sleeping Gods Dwell02. Gargoyle
03. In My Coffin
04. Cabin 13
05. Blowtorch Blues
06. Freshly Dug Graves
07. Plague Bearer
08. The Ruiner
09. Engorged With Gore
10. Downfall Pt. 1
A review by
Windrider January 28, 2015
The album consists of nine songs with usual death metal lengths and one exception, which I will come to later. Abscession's sound can be best described as a mixture of Florida and Swedish death metal, for example consider merging Deicide with Evocation and you pretty much get the idea. Therefore, heavy and fast riffs shine through the walls of guitars, supported by a deep lying bass and powerful, sometimes technical drums. The harsh vocals are very strong on this album, showing an awesome technique of growling and a perfect balance between understandable words and snorting sounds from hell. While we're at it, some lyrics thematize H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos, which should be reason enough to give this album a spin.
From time to time one can also hear background keys, especially when the guitars are silent, and prominently in the last track, "Downfall pt. 1". This song needs some discussion because of other features that make it different from the previous nine, as there is a part with clean vocals and an overall more melodeath like riffing with melodic leads that sound like all of a sudden the modern Kalmah want to join the Florida-Swedish team, too. Another special track surely is "In My Coffin", a slow doomish song with melancholic lyrics that seems not quite appropriate at first glance, but after having listened to Grave Offerings a few times it suddenly works as a welcomed variety.
Looking at the overall impression, one must say that there are great songs in the first half, yet in the second half it just doesn't feel quite as special as before. Out of its five tracks, mainly "Plague Bearer" and the above discussed "Downfall Pt. 1" stay in mind. The rest is still very solid, yet nothing that couldn't be heard from other bands, too. Production-wise I feel like it's important to praise this album on the highest level, as there is almost everything one could wish for. Powerful guitars and bass with lots of deep and noble tone, nothing like annoying high-gain, run-of-the-mill bathtub-equalizer sound. The vocals, again, are strong as fuck and it's audible that they didn't require a lot of editing. The only thing that could be done a little better are the drums, as they feel not as deep and heavy compared to the guitars, but that's still just one step from perfection.
Conclusion: You like standard death metal with some special features and strong vocals? Then your name could be Fenriz. And even if not, Abscession's album will still be a purchase you won't regret.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Windrider | January 28, 2015
Comments
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Posts: 212
Was hooked on this album the instant I saw the words Death Metal 
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Posts: 6941
Fun album, and the cover art reminds me of Goonies once I noticed the coins in the eyes  Thanks for writing. It won't be my new fav death metal album but it was a nice trip that I may take again.
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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