Abyssal Vacuum has completed its debut album.
After four EPs, the Lyon-based band featuring Enno P. (drums, Temple of Worms, ex-Poisöncharge), Onbra O. (guitar, Serpens Luminis, Viande, ex-Vortex of End), Sébastien B. (guitar/vocals, Dysylumn, Bacchus, Trogne), Sylvain C. (bass) and Moïse M. (samples, Bacchus) unveil Abyssal Vacuum in collaboration with Signal Rex.
Keen to take their concept to the next level, the six tracks on Abyssal Vacuum are actually coordinates pointing to a place charged with occult energy.
43°23’51.0 “N 40°21’35.3 ”E is the first stop on our journey, in the mountains north-east of Georgia near the Kushoni Pass, and greets us with mystical choirs followed by hazy, haunting Black Metal from which howls emerge almost naturally, haunting the aerial sonorities. We also have mystical vocal parts fueling the intoxicating atmosphere of the track before heading to France at 44°13’15.2 “N 3°21’25.4 ”E, which represents the Aven Armand cave where the sound is distinctly more aggressive, thanks in particular to piercing leads and more energetic drums. The brighter hues of the harmonics contribute to the intoxicating contrast of the track, but the band gives us a short respite before charging full speed ahead again to its rather mellow finale, then to 37°11’18.4 “N 86°06’10.3 ”W, at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky (USA). The sound is at first more oriented towards a kind of thick Sludge, but the angsty guitar returns to tint the heaviness until the vocal parts come into play, embellishing the heavy rhythm by giving it its melancholic touch before heading out to Belize, towards the town of Springfield at 17°08’51.0 “N 88°48’45.0 ”W. The location represents the Midnight Terror Cave, and you can feel the oppression slowly spreading as the band accelerates, while the vocals wander like ectoplasm through the place before suddenly leaving it for 17°07’42.1 “N 88°51’02.5 ”W. Still located in Belize, it represents the Actun Tunichil Muknal, another site where human bones have been found, and which cultivates a similar atmosphere made up of scathing but heady harmonics that intermingle under the vocalist’s supervision before the trickle of water transports us to 27°51’03.6 “N 105°29’45.7 ”W, the famous Cueva de cristales de Naica, in Mexico. Once again, even if the sound remains very dark and cavernous, the leads and vocals add that majestic touch that makes the track contemplative, reminding us all the same of the aggressive, cutting dimension thanks to the much more virulent patterns at the end of the track, which also marks the end of the album.
Not content with making a sublime album in every respect, Abyssal Vacuum also takes us on a journey with Abyssal Vacuum, highlighting places that perfectly match the mysterious coldness of their multi-hued Black Metal. A real masterpiece!
95/100