The grisly sleeve artwork and the much-used pictures of the forest in the gloom set the scene from Absorption, a band with a demo and a split to its name previously. With it comes the promise that the band has expanded from its pure death metal origins.

“Graven Streams in the Stones Engulfed by Darkness” is as heavy and black as its title suggests. An extreme wall of sound bears down on us. Crushing and loaded with menace, the echoing voice lingers darkly. The progression is steady and noise-laden as we are swallowed up by death metal at its most extreme. The end is sudden, but straightaway we are under attack from a further volley of technically skilful thunder. There’s no room for or attempt at compromise. But it flows along like a fiery river, with occasional tempo changes to get our juices flowing even more. At one point it’s bordering on thrash. But most of all it’s dark and dirty death metal. On we chug through the pit of slime. We are led into the dark and deathly vaults of “Mental Secretion”. “Irreversible Cruelty” has more of a funereal tone about it. That’s the introduction before it explodes and bursts into violent life. Crushing as ever, it’s almost 8 minutes of grinding us down. In spite of its intensity, its constant unchanging oppression made it less interesting than the other monstrous slabs that make up this album. “Miasmas of Boiling Ashes” completes the carnage. Big, dark, extreme and sinister, its properties are familiar. 4 minutes into the 9, it breaks off and all of a sudden we are taken to a world of tragedy. This was a welcome and interesting switch at this stage of the album, add a dimension with its expansive atmosphere without losing any of the power or extremity. Just as if this didn’t happen, we revert to the deep growls and thunderous technical canvas that characterise this album, and on this defiant note it ends.

I can’t say this was something I’ve never heard before but “Enveloping Wound of Astringent Void” is done well. It’s the dark, twisty extreme death metal of high quality.

(7.5/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/AbsorptionDeath

https://absrptn.bandcamp.com/album/enveloping-womb-of-astringent-void