This is one of those albums where I found myself heading down the trail of “who does this sound like?”, as it rumbles on in its melodic heavy metal way. I realise that Lahmia are not a tribute band and deserve their own hearing. Such recognition at least ensured that I knew I had to blank out such thoughts.
My comparisons are by the way because what matters is that these guys from Italy can really play. “Into the Abyss” is their first full release. Motion-driven, melodic metal is their core game but is far from all of it. While that’s going on, at the risk of making it sound like a car, “Into the Abyss” has a good range of musical accessories. Death metal based, the album is heavy on technicality which is neatly interwoven with those punchy melodic lines. The strong riffs reminded me of Lahmia’s fellow countrymen Novembre, notably on “Silent Through the Screaming” and the deathly flamboyant “Glass Eyed Child” but here there are no pictures of crumbling buildings and whilst there’s evident melancholy, it’s not dominant. The driving force is the centre of it. The urgent pace and vocal style are for much of the album more akin to Dark Tranquillity. There’s plenty of action and it’s presented in different ways. While on “Nightfall” there’s almost an air of jollity, the darkly technical work blends in with rampant melody to create excitement on “The Tunnel”, which this time strongly reminded me of Insomnium (sorry, that’s another comparison).
The problem I had with this album really is that much as I enjoyed the energy and appreciated the smooth skill of the technical work, I never really got to grips with the direction it was going in, nor what Lahmia were trying to do. “Grinding Dreams” epitomised this distance I felt and in fact its title perhaps captures my concern. It’s expressive in that Novembrian way but punctured here and there by that technical riffage like a ball with several holes in it before ending in an uncertain way. I preferred it when they just “went for it” as they did on the energetic and colourful “Strength from my Wounds”. There were plenty of ideas but they were consistent. I appreciated the intent to provide depth but would suggest that more careful thought is needed as to the context. I could feel the passion on “Glass Eyed Child”, which broke into wide emotion and majesty and provided a variance from the very acceptable melodic death metal base but this is something that needs to be worked into the listener’s psyche like dough has to be kneaded thoroughly to create fine bread. Moreover the quality was lacking when Lahmia branched out. Moody vocals should not be grating or peculiar and on “Glass Eyed Child” and “The Tunnel”, the moment wasn’t captured. The album goes off at a tangent towards the end. A creepy, almost gothic black metal side arises from a quiet acoustic start on “My Crown” before returning to the acoustic work and an impressive cry of anguish. “Ab Aeterno” brings “Into the Abyss” to a funereal gothic end. It’s an odd end to a good but not wholly co-ordinated album.
For me this album was like waiting for the sun to come out but it never happened. It had some great moments but I do think that before their next album this band needs to assess their strengths and weaknesses and decide the overall effect they want to have on their listeners. “Into the Abyss” was like several different works and therefore came across at times as a series of snapshots. In spite of this, it is a decent and mostly enjoyable album.
(5.5 / 10 Andrew Doherty)
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