I think I am probably one of the few people outside of Australia that has seen this band live, having witnessed their devastating show at Metal For Melbourne in 2017 when I visited the country in January of that year. I don’t think the band has ever played in Europe or the UK, but I could be wrong. Abramelin hail from Melbourne and have been in existence under this moniker for 30 years and prior to that the band was called Acheron from 1988 to 1994 before switching names to avoid confusion with the American band called Acheron. Before 2002 the band released two albums and an EP before calling a halt to proceedings and reforming in 2016 with two original members from the 1994 period onwards and one guy who entered the ranks in 2000. Only one member is still with the band from when they were called Acheron and that is Simon Dower. Even though the band reformed in 2016 it took another four years for a third album to be released called ‘Never Enough Stuff’ which was a quality brutal slab of death metal.
Fast forwards four years and the band has constructed their fourth album which is a brutal sonic annihilation. Added to that they have opted for a live action album cover adorned by two people, Kiannah Dower and Martin Midlec, in a suitable gore drenched simulation. I should also add that the band has in its ranks original bassist Rob Mollica who originally played guitar in the bands early days. Added to that you have guitarist Matt Wilcock who has been with the band since 2000 but also plays in a raft of other acts and finally drummer David Haley who some may recognise as the drummer in Psycroptic. Well, enough of the back story and onto this new vitriolic album.
‘Conflagration Of The Dreamers’ is the opening track and instead of weaning you in gradually with some sort of intro piece the band inflicts instant damage with the abrasive guitar sound and slight thrash like riffing which has a higher tone than you’d ordinarily expect in death metal. Abramelin are as old school as it comes, there’s no trickery involved here, no technical workouts even though the complexity of the playing and song writing is plain to hear. I especially enjoyed the copious riff changes and rampant tempo dynamics as ‘The Gory Hole’ follows in equally savage fashion. The opening riff is slower, reeking of old school death as the tune steps on the gas swiftly and with huge momentum. Adding the occasional percussive break with particular emphasis on the cymbal work is as old school as they come too with a blast speed that is insane too, ensuring the song has gargantuan gutturalness.
Slightly more tech is the title track as my reference to thrash is hugely evident here, well to my ears anyway, even though it is executed at breakneck speed. There are tons of deviations in the riffing but it is the drumming of Haley that will have you take notice, because if you have ever listened to or seen Psycroptic then you know exactly what I mean. I also like the slower more pervasively doom-death like passages as they add dread and palpable density. ‘Man’s Best Friend’ is awesome, the opening riff is piercing and gripping on all fronts, topped off by the grisly vocals and unerring velocity. The song reminded me of very early Sinister stuff, namely their first two albums, due to that speed like riff injection as the song contorts around deluges in tempo changes.
‘Last Rite’ offers a substantial change in proceedings, with a much slower more atmospheric riff that owes plenty to the melodic death metal scene. The abrupt change is fluidly done retaining that core melodic aura overall as the tune even has a slight blackened feathering to the tone on the riff. Another jaw dropping facet here are Dower’s excellent vocals, which possess that utterly dense guttural tone that original death metal vocalists had back in the day. There are a plethora of changes as the song also boasts the most noticeable lead break on the album.
‘Deceased Estate’ has an intrinsic melodic death metal styling, with the guitar work embedding into the songs blasted sortie, as here we also get some formidable lead work. The tune is catchy, to a degree, as it uses a more groove like persona to capture your attention as another slower tune appears in the form of ‘Meet The Meat’ right before the what I would deem as a speed death metal riff that is inserted alongside the wanton sonic carnage that follows via the drum work. Like the other tunes the blast beat is never too far away as Abramelin only uses them to add as much impact to the songs and the albums flow generally. ‘Street Art’ has a bludgeoning opening riff, and probably my favourite on the album, as the song spins into blasts and carpet bombing double bass. This is as true to old school death as you’re ever going to get as the album concludes with ‘You Bleed, I Feed’. The closer is the longest track on the album and as you’d probably predict is much slower, more atmospheric and saturated in a dark foreboding ethos. The changes quickly appear as the pace increases and the vocals inject their own gruesome toning to the song’s atmosphere. As the song develops you get the impression the band is layering on intensity with each passing second as the blast beat segments are wholly battering and leaves you in no doubt that Abramelin has unleashed a veritable firestorm of an album.
(8.5/10 Martin Harris)
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