Comprised of Iggor Cavalera (ex-Cavalera Conspiracy, ex-Sepultura), Scott Kelly of Neurosis and Amenra’s Mathieu J. Vandekerckhove and Colin H. Van Eeckhout, Absent in Body is something of a post metal supergroup. Their debut album, Plague God, was recorded at Amenra bassist Tim De Gieter’s Much Luv Recording Studios in Belgium, further adding to the star quality appeal of this opus.
Iggor sets a seismic, unrelenting pace behind the drums, while the guitars hit with all the impact of a sledgehammer. The influence of both Amenra and Neurosis is prevalent throughout, with riffs that are reminiscent of albums such as Mass V and A Sun That Never Sets. Instrumentally, this record sounds enormous and each individual musician’s style complements each other perfectly. The trade off in vocals between Colin and Scott adds further texture to an already multi-faceted collection of songs. Despite the overarching and unmistakable post metal influence of Plague God, there are elements of doom metal at play in the tempo that each song crawls and writhes along at.
Sitting at just 38 minutes in length, this is an album that’s concise in what it has to say. It’s bleak and satisfyingly heavy, yet beneath the surface there’s a poetic flow to the album which is telling of the raw, artistic talent that has conspired to bring it to life. It’s unknown whether Absent in Body will be a one off or a permanent side project for those involved. Here’s hoping it’s the latter.
(8/10 Angela Davey)
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