Titter ye not. We have all suffered the pestilence of Abysmal Winds at one time or another, that and the foul stench that accompanies them. At first glance one may assume that these three Swedes are still freshly soiling their nappies with this being their debut album following on from demo material. On closer inspection however it is apparent they have been brewing their faecal matter for some time in other bands including Avsky, who all three members also reside in. But enough of the schoolboy humour, this is ‘real death metal’ and it’s a serious subject!
Here we get nine tracks ejected over a running time of just over the half hour mark. It all starts with an intro invocation which as one might anticipate gustily billows out the speakers with effects of the subject matter, resounding gong booms and slithering guitar work. After this the ‘Sacrilegious’ ritual begins in full with pretty much everything you would anticipate. There’s guttural roars and rasps, a massive flurry of bruising drums and thick and vicious bottom end enriched with that tried and tested grinding HM2 assault the Swedes love so much. Lovers of Grave, early Necrophobic and the likes of Incantation will know exactly what to expect here and the band like death and along with the shuffling gait of ‘Obliteration’ the doomy side of things too.
Under the auspices of Magnus “Devo” Andersson the sound is a rumbling, grumbling concoction with plenty of intestinal discontent, uncomfortably thickening things out with groaning heaves from bass playing vocalist HCF. Grooving with brackish and gnarly tones through tracks like ‘Blood Prison’ it’s evident that having established their metal of death credentials the band are not going to diversify from them in the slightest and stick to things rigidly without anything in the way of deviation. Naturally this means that there isn’t going to be much in the way of anything but getting the job done and this is not the most varied of listening experiences. That said it comes with the territory and its proficient and finely cut without overstaying its welcome.
(7/10 Pete Woods)
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