Album Review: ‘S/T’ – ABDUCTED

‘Self titled’ – ABDUCTED

What is up boys and girls and everyone on the gender spectrum? I hope the fall is treating you good. But if not, let me take care of that. And I shall do that today by throwing your way some bone crushing and ear shattering death metal from up north, Fairbanks, Alaska. Today, we bring to you the debut, full length record by ABDUCTED. There is some real deep connection with the icy cold north and death metal, isn’t it? Be it Swedish death metal, melodic death metal from Finland or the notorious first wave of black metal from Norway, an offshoot born out of death metal itself. No matter where they all fall on the wide array of the dissonant side of metal, they are exclusively special to itself and can kick abundant posers off the deck any day. And that is exactly what ABDUCTED successfully does on their debut offering, that is, mercilessly annihilate your petty ear drums. Let’s not beat around the bush and dissect this wonderful album.

Right off the hook, the band throws at you a massive, heavy and head-banging breakdown riff. Something in the range of slow tempo, that is perfect for building up the adrenaline as a prelude to the next songs. It is an absolute banger, it gets your feet stomping, and neck swaying in unison. Although, groovy, chugging or breakdowns get flak sometimes, they do get your head banging. I would say ABDUCTED perfectly nails the kick-off to this album. It sets the mood for a perfect incoming onslaught.

Second song titled, ‘Aberration‘ makes no excuses, no time for bull shitting around, and it just goes ‘BAM’! It’s like a charged up bull unleashed from its barn satiating its soaring adrenaline levels. You can immediately hear those double bass kicks going in hard, complimented by the hard crashing cymbals and not to mention the savory and grinding riff. Apart from the band’s vocalist doing a tremendous job on this one, we have our own homeboy Tyler Byrum laying down some sick, thick and morbid growls featuring as the first guest vocalist on the album. And he has done a great job filling that guest vocals spot, I think he has melded his vocals pretty well into the song. At about 2:54, everything just comes to a standstill for a second, and you know there’s something wicked the band had been brewing up for this next groove fest. And oh boy, what a juicy riff! You know I have a penchant for them grooves, the huge chuggs and breakdowns. And its not even halfway into the second song and ABDUCTED throws in my favorite gnarly, nasty and filthiest riff on the album. Drop tuned earth shattering guitars, that crash cymbal, coupled with the double bass and hard snare, each woven perfectly into each other, with the perfect timing results in a mouth watering section, that I would call my favourite in the album. The track then progresses into a frenzy fiesta and then fades into this another fist pumping breakdown.

There’s one really good trait that this album holds is that it is a very well balanced concoction of groove along the modern metal lines, some fierce and fast paced riffing as seen in songs like ‘Kerrigan‘, ‘Deadite‘ and ‘The Twin Princes‘ to name a few. A few guitar solos are also thrown in songs like ‘Indoctrination‘. The riff transitions in the album are also very well curated, they are swift, crisp and they all fit into the song perfectly, without any part in the song left out feeling like it doesn’t belong in the puzzle. And that, is what makes this album interesting. I believe more often that not, what modern/deathcore/djent bands end up doing is fail to meticulously cook the perfect broth. It is either too much of riff based chugs, or too much of just palm muted djent, or just enough of groove, and that’s what makes me yawn by the end of the album. Art in whatever form, I feel, should be well balanced, just like a diet. Like, I don’t wanna feed my ears 40 minutes of palm muted riffs, you know what I am saying.

ABDUCTED features some very thick growls, spawned directly from the crypts of hell. And as stated before, the vocalist manages to balance it out. Its not always the thick and dense growls but also the high pitched borderline screeching as well. Major props to second guest on vocals featured in ‘The Twin Princes‘, as he manages to not sway so much in vocal range and depth of his growls in the album from the band’s vocalist, so as to feel that the song doesn’t belong in the album. I must add that the vocals in the album fit perfectly in terms of the depth and heaviness when it comes to complimenting the riffing. I believe this is something very important in death metal. If your vocals sound like you’re just into puberty but your guitars are monstrous, then I might as well go ahead and just say that is pretty much bollocks.

The drumming in the album has been intense as well. The meandering nature of the drums from groove, to machine gun double bass to the cymbal work have been immaculate. The snare sound is just absolute favorite for my ears and to my liking. It’s crisp and hits hard. All in all, the band manages to tweak every aspect of their sound in this album to perfection. The guitars, vocals, drums and bass all match each other in terms of how much they compliment each other. Each ingredient has been perfectly engineered in the desired ratio to produce this beast of a debut record.

Stream the album down below. And if you like them enough, support them by giving yourself some really cool death metal on their bandcamp page and merch store.

Indian Death Metallers GODLESS To Decimate Europe This September!

Indian metal has been on the rise on the global platform for quite a while lately now. There are more number of Indian bands touring Europe than ever before. 2019 has been phenonmenal when it comes to Indian bands taking a leap overseas and showcasing their prowess to the wider audiences to much applause. GODLESS has been one of the most technical, cut throat and brutal bands that have made a huge mark in the Indian scene for the past couple of years now. They have been professional, powerful and also have been successful in cementing themselves as rising force in both Indian and global death metal scene.

If I still don’t sound convincing go ahead and check them out while they’re out on the road starting this September 7th, making sure their blend of nerve wracking death metal takes no prisoners. The boys from Hyderabad will be touring  seven countries, playing 18 shows over a stretch of 23 days on their aptly named tour, ‘Swarm Over Europe‘. Fellow German death metal band DIVIDE shall be supporting them in the entire European conquest. Check the dates down below.

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MUNICIPAL WASTE Announce UK/European Tour w/ Toxic Holocaust, Enforcer, Skeletal Remains

Richmond thrashers Municipal Waste have been busy since the release of their sixth album, Slime And Punishment. Since 2017, they have been laying waste to the world sharing the stage with Hatebreed, Cro-Mags, among others in just 2019 alone. Shortly after their upcoming Fall US Tour dates MW will headline a winter UK/European tour with Toxic Holocaust, Enforcer, Skeletal Remains Continue reading

MEMORIAM Guitarist Founds New Project, AS THE WORLD DIES [Video Teaser]

Scott Fairfax, of Memoriam (English death metal, signed to Nuclear Blast Records) fame, has been churning out a record for his new project, As the World Dies. Chris McGrath, a lifelong friend of Fairfax, will be behind the kit. McGrath has been involved with Ashen Crown (another English death metal outfit) and has also helped out Memoriam as their drummer for one live show. On bass guitar is Phil Milman (also from Ashen Crown), and second guitarist is Topher O’Meagher, from English metal band Gehtika. On vocals is former The Face of Ruin singer, Alex Mumford. Continue reading

Review: ENTOMBED A.D. – ‘Bowels of Earth’ [Video Stream]

Entombed A.D. – the band who rose from the ashes of Swedish death metal legends, Entombed, in 2014 – return with their third studio album, ‘Bowels of Earth.’ Set to release on August 30th, 2019 via Century Media Records, ‘Bowels of Earth’ continues the tradition of groove-laden death metal that defined the Swedish scene back in the 90s. With buzzsaw guitars chugging out string tension-defying, ultra-downtuned riffage, and the monstrous growls of vocal veteran LG Petrov – along with Victor Brandt (bass), Nico Elgstrand (guitar), and Olle Dahlstedt (drums) – Entombed A.D. are keeping the spirit of death n’ roll alive and devastating in 2019. Continue reading

State Of The Art: Delaware’s CANCER PRIEST [Track Stream]

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Delaware.*

Known for being the first state in the union, Delaware is also home to a brutal band of maniacs called Cancer Priest. Since discovering the death metal/hardcore quintet consisting of Dennis McGonigal (vocals), Rich Strohm (guitar), Brent Lafferty (guitar), Adam Siatkowski (bass), and Evan Williams (drums), their music has been ripping up my headphones ever since. ‘Worldwide Cemetery,’ the band’s 2018 EP, is angry, violent, and chaotic to say the least. With just a five-song track list, whose total runtime is under 10 minutes, Cancer Priest delivers enough explosive riffage and verbal hatred to decimate a small city. Continue reading

MESHUGGAH & THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER Bring the Heavy To Nashville [Review & Photo Gallery]

Meshuggah

Swedish extreme metal innovators Meshuggah treated U.S. fans to a surprise when they announced they would hit the spring U.S. festival circuit and sprinkle in a handful of select cities across the states in between. In addition to Welcome to Rockville, the Epicenter Festival, the Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival, and the Chicago Open Air Festival, Meshuggah chose to destroy six other lucky cities as they traversed the southern and northeastern states before heading to Europe this summer. Joining them on these select dates were Detroit, MI death metal veterans The Black Dahlia Murder. Continue reading

Hatebreed, Obituary, Cro Mags “JM” & Terror In Charlotte [Review & Photo Gallery]

Hatebreed

Hardcore heavyweights Hatebreed are celebrating 25 years of music. Two and a half decades worth of music that is certified to make you want to kick someone’s ass. In the world of hardcore and metal, that’s no small accomplishment. What better way to celebrate an achievement like this than to tour the country with some of the most influential bands from the world of underground music; Terror, Cro-Mags*, and Obituary. This tour stopped in Charlotte, North Carolina, last week to celebrate the last 25 years with a sold-out venue. Here’s how it went. Continue reading

AMON AMARTH Unveil 2019 North American Tour With ARCH ENEMY, AT THE GATES & GRAND MAGUS

What a killer announcement this is! It looks like more of a Swedish invasion of North America, and it couldn’t have got any better when AMON AMARTH is at the helm of this viking ship. In this total viking onslaught, AMON AMARTH is joined by fellow Swedish big shots ARCH ENEMYAT THE GATES and heavy metallers GRAND MAGUS. This fall, starting from September 26th to October 26th, the Swedish hell raisers will devastate America and Canada in a month long affair.

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