A New Dawn.. for Your Death…
It’s hard to stand out in heavy metal these days. It seems more and more bands aren’t relying on new inspirations, but are simply covering each other. This belief is held until one hears the new album by Abysmal Dawn. The LA death metal 4 piece has put together a pretty good death metal album, titled Obsolensce. This release finds the LA metal masters pushing the pedal again, this time for their fourth studio album and their third for Relapse Records.
Since their inception in 2004, Andy Nelson (guitarist) and Charles Elliot (guitar and vocals) have been the core members, with a seemingly revolving door of musicians joining them since. Currently their lineup has Scott Fuller on drums, who absolutely kills it on this album, and Eliseo Garcia on bass.
From the first few snare drum hits on the opener “Human Obsolence” we are thrown right into it; the album opens with gutteral screams backed by insane blast beats. Fuller, the aforementioned drummer on Obsolescence, undoubtedly does insane things on this album. His speed and accuracy behind the kit might be the best heard in this scene, with metronome like time followed by insane drum fills. It’s all over this tune and album.
The second song “Perfecting Slavery” is just a speed fest. The guitars here are playing so fast, it makes one wonder how much faster they can go. Both Andy and Charles are easily playing the most technically proficient metal out now. The slowed down bridge here is intense. Almost like stopping a freight train dead in it’s tracks, the slowed section has an almost Pantera-like feel. Followed up with dueling guitar solos, it doesn’t get any more metal than this.
“Inanimate,” probably the best overall song on the album, grooves a much slower pace. It’s more like a car race than strapping into a fighter jet and that’s why it could be the better song on the album. It gives you a bit of a respite from all the crazy speed and it gives you a chance to breathe. The groove here is instantly headbang-able.
With all that is great about Obsolesence, and trust us there is a lot, there is still a little bit missing. The album itself is a barnburner, and could very easily be the fastest thing released this year, but this release is missing just a little bit of that sauce that made some of the other death metal records released this year incredible. Regardless, with Obsolesence, one will not be disappointed. If you’re looking for blast beat fills, then this is the record you have to hear.
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