Band:	Lahmia
Album:	Into The Abyss
Style:	Melodic death metal
Release date:	May 14, 2012
A review by:	Doc G.

01. Drag Me To Hell
02. Nightfall
03. Silent Through The Screaming Crowd
04. The Tunnel
05. Into The Abyss
06. Glass Eyed Child
07. Grinding Dreams
08. Strength From My Wounds
09. My Crown
10. Ab Aeterno

Think back to when you were 7 years old. You're cruising in a shopping cart under stark department store lighting, when you spot it, yes, that's right, that special G.I. Joe action figure you've seen in all the commercials. Yup, the one with all the best gadgets, coolest guns, and it even comes with that sweet-ass panzer tank-Harley Davidson crossbreed vehicle that shoots the mean looking missiles. Yes, that one. Your cheap-ass parents make you save up for weeks before you can covet this toy that's sure to complete your life. Going through the check-out is almost a religious experience. Then you get home, take it from the packaging, and holy mother of God this hunk of plastic sucks. It's flimsy, doesn't do all the crazy commando type shit that was promised, and the assembly instructions are written in some kind of extinct archaic language. The feeling of sitting through Lahmia's Into The Abyss is strikingly similar.

Judging by the album artwork, it's easy to guess this is some type of melodic death metal. Well, that's right, it's some straight-up Gothenburg style melodeath mixed with a few touches of thrash. The influence from Dark Tranquillity, Arch Enemy, and other such staples is very much apparent. Despite being pretty derivative, it's not too bad. Well, not entirely. The individual riffs are great. Equal parts catchy and aggressive, with just the right amount of high-flying leads; covering all the essentials of melodeath.

All this is pertaining to the individual segments, that is. The song structuring here is almost painful to deal with. A fantastic lead strikes up, you say to yourself "God damn, this is going to build up into something to justify shitting my pants to!" It doesn't. It generally will break into some boring filler riffs, followed by that anti-climactic lead again.

I wouldn't say this album is worth avoiding, especially if you revel in anti-climactic song writing, but all this repetition build-up with no direction is a cold slap in the dick more than anything.