New threat from Wombbath.
After a short period of calm, Håkan Stuvemark (guitar/bass, Grisly, Pale King, Skineater, ex-In Thy Dreams), Jonny Pettersson (guitar/vocals, Heads for the Dead, Rotpit, ex-Just Before Dawn, ex-Skineater… ), Thomas von Wachenfeldt (guitar, Wachenfeldt) and Matt Davidson (bass, Repulsive Vision) recruit Antti Silventoinen (drums, Insert Remedy), with whom they breathe life into Beyond the Abyss, their seventh album, released via Pulverised Records.
The album kicks off with a disquieting introduction featuring dark tones, crystalline notes and whispers of all kinds, eventually reaching Words Unspoken where the first riffs strike, quickly followed by savage vocal parts. Death Metal’s Old School roots allow the melodies to adopt macabre touches, while the keyboards make the rhythm more majestic, but violence grants us a moment’s respite before rallying the heavy A Symphony Of Dread, which plays on slower, groovier keys to strike. A wave of raw power still shakes the composition before its mysterious finale, which takes us to Discord Of Doom and its intriguing leads thrown at full speed over an abrasive base, with occasional backing vocals supporting the growls. Beyond The Abyss‘s harmonics could almost be mistaken for oriental tones so airy and catchy are they, but they quickly turn into luminous touches in this surge of rage, which only falls silent to allow us to breathe before Malevolent takes over. The sound remains solid and dissonant at all times, providing a solid base for the vocal parts while the riffs dutifully stomp away, but a few distant melodies will also be heard before giving way to Faces Of Tragedy, where the band stick to jerky, catchy patterns. Some passages are once again rather massive, even unifying like the final, then the dark tones take over again with Deep Hunger, where orchestral touches create a terrifying contrast with the violence of the rhythm. This is followed by The Damned And The Slain, which in turn strikes with a certain simplicity also found on the softer break, but the guitars come back to haunt us with their sharp saturation, leading into Consumed By Fire, where hell comes to life thanks to haunting tones that invade our minds and leave us wandering mentally before gradually disappearing.
Wombbath have always been able to give their riffs macabre, occult tones, creating a very special kind of Death Metal. Beyond The Abyss is as enjoyable as its predecessors, and rounds off a powerful discography.
90/100