I’ve been having a discussion with my son. Stay with me on this, it will have relevance! He’s been playing the “Shadow of War” game on the Xbox. “I like it – I mean, it’s got loads of flaws, and there’s not much clever about it, but the basic gameplay – it works and it’s compulsive. It’s like a Kebab – not fine cuisine, but sometimes it’s what you want”. This then brings me to Abscession, a band with one album already under their belt, and now producing “Rot of Ages”. Abscession are not fine dining, but are they a post-pub kebab?
Their game? Old-School death metal, but to be fair there is a bit of difference in their influences here. So sure, the main influences you’ll here are the Swedish masters, most particularly in the guitar tone Grave, but there are also influences of an altogether less expected direction. Frequently, I was reminded of the punky-straight ahead work of classic Benediction. Now, if that came as a surprise to you, it was also to me. It’s not often you hear of them being an influence, is it?
You hear it in the songwriting chops. Yes, the buzzsaw guitars and brutal rhythm section are all very present and correct, and so are the hoarse but understandable vocals, but there’s both a moderately melodic element here, but that in-your-face attitude of early death metal, when it was still punk influenced. The groove of “Dead Man’s Hate” could have been from that era, although of course now with the added benefit of a modern punchy production.
There are some great hook laden numbers here, for example the gonzo enjoyment of chug-a-thon “War Machine”, which is just about as sophisticated as that sounds. Is it big and clever? No, not particularly. Is it fun? Hell yeah. That’s essentially what “Rot of Ages” is – a fairly filling if no-frills romp through well written and catchy fuzzy death metal. It’s probably not going to win any awards in the originality stakes, but you know what, sometimes a sonic kebab is alright. I deny anyone from banging their head to the Slayer on steroids mosh-section towards the end of “War Machine”. You’re probably imagining what that sounds like now in your head – the good news is, that you’ve probably imagined it correctly.
It may not be the most essential release of the year, and I think it’s unlikely to trouble my album of the year list, but it’s good, honest unwholesome fun.
(7/10 Chris Davison)
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