Sleeping Village Reviews
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!

PYRRHON - Abscess Time (Review)

6/28/2020

0 Comments

 
We covered this album during last week's edition of Fresh Meat Friday...but Pyrrhon is far too significant of a band to gloss over with such egregious brevity. As such, our very own gibbously non-euclidean amalgamation--aka Loveloth the Omniscient--took the reins. Hence: enjoy this expanded review! - Ed. 

Picture
Written by: Loveloth

​
Three years ago, a more impressionable, less jaded Loveloth scoured the plains of the Interwebz in search of new, exciting music. One faithful day, I was doing the usual, which translated to me religiously reading Angry Metal Guy. Anyhow, here I am scrolling through and chillin' until I see this insane album cover. It features a mangled dog snarling, whose paw got stuck in a rusty iron trap. The beast has multiple wounds and is clearly malnourished. The surrounding area looks nice though as it's filled with leaves, but the dog and washed out color palette evokes a feeling of discomfort. Needless to say, my interest was piqued and one quick glance later I see the title. Pyrrhon, What Passes For Survival. The two r's in the band name were weird, sure, but I was not prepared what was to come.

You see, there is this guy named Kronos who writes for AMG, and he is known for his hot takes and penchant for the most extreme forms of metal. What I absolutely love about his style, apart from his vast vocabulary and superb phrasing, is how convincing his points always were. Sure, I would disagree with him, but his hot takes never felt cheap and that is pretty rare these days. But now: back to the epic, overlong intro.

As I was reading, I started getting hyped due to Kronos' rarely seen enthusiasm--and the 5.0 score at the bottom sealed the deal. I was so ready for this, except I wasn't, like at all. The opener “Happy Victim's Creed” kicked my ass. A jagged maelstrom of riffs, spastic, seemingly arrhythmic drumming, inhuman gurgling, wild noisy bursts: all these things were new to me back then, and I wasn't sure if I genuinely liked this type of music or if I was just liking how off-kilter and underground it was. Up to that point Pyrrhon were the single most extreme thing I ever heard and with each revisitation of What Passes For Survival my fascination and appreciation of it grew. Eventually I started wondering: “How the hell are they gonna follow this up?”

Well my friends, the answer is finally here as we shall attempt to dissect the beast that is Abscess Time, Pyrrhon's latest album.

Before we jump in, a disclaimer, especially for those new to the band. The lyrics. They contain, get this, socio-political commentary. For some this is a terrifying notion, but not for me and especially not in this case. For my two cents, Pyrrhon feature some of the best lyrical content in the whole metal genre. High words for sure, but ones I have no issue stating. The reason behind it is their vocalist Doug Moore. Whatever he tackles, there is always a great attention to detail and the aforementioned commentary never comes off as preachy. Pair this with a vast vocabulary, varied narrative approaches, add a healthy, unpretentious dose of cynicism, stir all of that on a low flame for 15 minutes, and voila: 'tis a hit! Allow me to demonstrate with this lovely passage on “Human Capital”:

“Become your best self
Persist to produce, deny yourself rest
Maintain, by false health be blessed
For every pain repressed, a palliative caress
Keeps you by wealth possessed
Laboring for change, straining to impress.”
​

​This is why a lyric sheet should be mandatory when tackling these guys, which brings us to my next point of interest: vocals. Unlike most burp and gurgle aficionados out there, Moore doesn't dwell in one register for too long. He instead jumps between practically every vocal form you can think of. While the examples of his skills are plentiful, the likes of “The Lean Years” and “State Of Nature” particularly stood out. On the latter, you can almost taste the vitriol in his voice and it only gets more intense as we approach the climax. There, we are greeted with two vocal tracks: one with screaming and the other with loud breaths which mirror the song's main pulse. The trick is choosing what to focus upon, because of course the song has polyrhythms covered by off-beat china smacks. It's such a brief moment too, but this is what I am all about.

I am also all about that bass, and boy, do we got it. The band's long-time collaborator and eternally busy Colin Marston once again handled the production values and the end result is another wonderfully defined, crisp and rich-sounding record that the genre oh so desperately lacks. Wonderful stuff but I still haven't touched upon the main thing, the instrumentation.

Like Ulcerate's most recent masterpiece, Abscess Time ends up being the quartet's least hostile record thus far due to a larger emphasis on space. It also sees them expanding upon their noise rock influences and are on average playing a tad slower. This is because of the aforementioned space but more importantly it comes down to the number of longer-lasting songs. While none pass the ten minute mark like on most of their previous output, five of them here pass the five minute one. The outcome? Almost 57 minutes of aural chaos, which makes Abscess Time their longest album to date and you feel it.
​

​While no track is outrightly bad, a few are underwhelming, mostly the shorter, most grindcore-influenced ones. It comes down to how they affect the record's flow. Both “Teuchnikskreis” and “Overwinding” feel out of place, and the transitions between them and surrounding tracks is always rough. I am also not a fan of audio excerpts they use from time to time, but luckily there aren't that many of them here. Oh, and the opener isn't anything too exciting as well, but the lads make up for it with slappers like “Down At Liberty Ashes,” “The Lean Years,” and “The Cost Of Living." Here, the band is at their peak yet are still able to show restraint which helps to accentuate the bleak atmosphere they created.

A large part of this is due to Malave's sublime bass work. What I love about his approach is how unflashy it is. Yes, it's technically proficient, like every player in
Pyrrhon
. But him and the rest of the band never veer into vapid instrumental wanking like so many nowadays. The New Yorkers instead use the jagged edges of dissonance and time manipulation as a tool to portray the ugly truths of our society, and there is nothing more terrifying than that, especially with lyrics as potent and graphic as Moore's.

I spent many hours with  Abscess Time and while it's not their best work yet, I would say it's their most varied and the best album   to get you started. I will say this though. In the three years that passed since What Passes For Survival, I spent A LOT of time exploring music, and in that time I came only across a handful of bands that matched or even came close to Pyrrhon's levels of musicianship. When it comes to forward-thinking death metal, New York is the best place to keep an eye on right now. In a time of rehashes, remakes, reboots and reworks seeping into every facet of the entertainment industry and influencing every art form it touches, it's refreshing to see something so unrestrained, alien and unapologetic. That, my friends, is why bands like Pyrrhon, Ingurgitating Oblivion and Afterbirth are so important. They reinvigorate that what is stale and the only way we all move is if we move forward. And with new Imperial Triumphant and Artificial Brain looming on the horizon, I couldn't be happier with where death metal is heading.

Pyrrhon - Abscess Time was released June 26th, 2020 from Willowtip Records

Pyrrhon can be found:​
Bandcamp
Facebook
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome!

    We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry!


    What are ye
    ​ 
    looking for?

    All
    2020
    420
    Acoustic
    Adam Paris
    Albums Of The Decade
    Albums Of The Year
    Alex Bringer Of Payne
    Alternative
    Alternative Metal
    Alternative Rock
    Alt Metal
    Alt Rock
    Ambient
    Ambient Metal
    Americana
    Ancient Hand
    Ancienthand
    Anti-imperialist
    AOR
    Aoty
    Apocalypse
    Art Rock
    Arzou
    Atmoblack
    Atmospheric
    Atmospheric Black Metal
    Atmospheric Doom
    Avant Garde
    Avant-garde
    Avant Garde Black Metal
    Avant Garde Death Metal
    Ballad
    Band Merch
    Bane Ov Silence
    Baroque Metal
    Beaston Lane
    Beatdown
    Bestial
    Best Of The Year 2018
    Blackened
    Blackened Crust
    Blackened Death
    Blackened Deathcore
    Blackened Death Metal
    Blackened Doom
    Blackened Grind
    Blackened Metal
    Blackened Punk
    Blackened Sludge
    Blackened Thrash
    Blackgaze
    Blackie Skulless
    Black Metal
    Black N Roll
    Black Thrash
    Blastbeasts
    Blastbeats
    Blood Metal
    Blues
    Blues Metal
    Blues Rock
    Breakcore
    Breakdown
    British Metal
    Brutal
    Brutal Death Metal
    Cantina
    Captain's Chronicles
    Captains Chronicles
    Capt Graves
    Carlos
    Cavern Death Metal
    Chaotic Death Metal
    Chaotic Hardcore
    Chaotic Metal
    Chinese Metal
    Chiptune
    Christian Metal
    Classic Albums
    Classical Crossover
    Classic Doom
    Classic Metal
    Classic Rock
    Comic
    Community Favorites
    Compilation
    Continuous Thunder
    Core
    Cosmic
    Cosmic Death Metal
    Country
    Cover Songs
    Crossover
    Crossover Thrash
    Crust
    Crust Punk
    Cyberpunk
    Dark Ambient
    Dark Metal
    Dark Pop
    Dark Rock
    D-beat
    Dbeat
    Deathcore
    Death Doom
    Death-doom
    Deathgrind
    Death Metal
    Death Thrash
    Debut Album
    Demo
    Depressive Black Metal
    Desert Rock
    Digital Hardcore
    Disco
    Dissonant
    Dissonant Black Metal
    Djent
    Doom
    Doom Death
    Doomgaze
    Doom Metal
    Doom Punk
    Doomviolence
    Double Review
    Dream Pop
    Dreampop
    Drone
    Dsbm
    Dungeons And Dragons
    Dungeon Synth
    Dungeon Synth Sunday
    Ecological
    Editorial
    Edm
    Electronic
    Electronic Rock
    Emo
    EP
    Epic Doom
    Epic Heavy Metal
    Epic Metal
    EP's
    Experimental
    Experimental Black Metal
    Experimental Electronic
    Extreme Metal
    Fantasy
    Favorite Music
    Finnish Metal
    Florida Death
    Folk
    Folk Black Metal
    Folk Metal
    Folk Rock
    Free Jazz
    Fresh Meat Friday
    Funeral Doom
    Fuzz
    Garage Rock
    German Heavy Metal
    Glam Metal
    Glam Rock
    Gore
    Goregrind
    Goth
    Gothic
    Gothic Metal
    Goth Metal
    Goth Rock
    Grind
    Grindcore
    Groove Metal
    Grunge
    Guest Post
    Guest Review
    Hair Metal
    Hallucinatory Black Death Metal
    Hardcore
    Hardcore Doom
    Hardcore Punk
    Hardcore Sludge
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Grinder
    Heavy Metal
    Heavy Psych
    Heavy Rock
    Hip Hip
    Hip Hop
    Horror
    Hxc
    Icelandic
    Immigrant Core
    Immigrind
    Indie
    Indie Rock
    Indonesia
    Industrial
    Industrial Metal
    Industrial Rock
    Instrumental
    Italian Metal
    Izzy
    Japanese Metal
    Jazz
    Legends
    Lichtmensch
    Lord Hsrah
    Lovecraft
    Loveloth
    Lunar Fanatic
    Mathcore
    Mathgrind
    Math Rock
    Melodeath
    Melodic Black Metal
    Melodic Death Metal
    Melodic Doom
    Melodic Metal
    Memorial
    Merch
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Metalhead World
    Metallic Hardcore
    METAL MENAGERIE
    Metal Reivews
    Metal Reviews
    Metalreviews
    Mid Year List
    Mid-year List
    Miscellaneous
    Modern Rock
    Murder Metal
    Music Review
    Music Video
    Mystic
    Negative Reviews
    Neofolk
    Nerdy
    New Age
    New Music
    Nintendocore
    Noise
    Noise Rock
    Nu Metal
    NWOBHM
    NWOTHM
    Occult
    Occult Rock
    Old School Death Metal
    OSDM
    Ozzy Osbourne
    Pagan Metal
    Peasantrys Picks
    Pirate Metal
    Pop
    Pop Metal
    Pop Punk
    Pop Rock
    Portal
    Post-black
    Post Black Metal
    Post-black Metal
    Post-classical
    Post Doom
    Post-doom
    Post-genre
    Post Hardcore
    Post-hardcore
    Post Metal
    Post-metal
    Post Punk
    Post-punk
    Post Rock
    Post-rock
    Post Sludge
    Post-sludge
    Power Electronics
    Power Metal
    Powerviolence
    Prehistoric
    Preorder
    Prog Metal
    Progressive Black Metal
    Progressive Death Metal
    Progressive Metal
    Progressive Rock
    Prog Rock
    Psychedelic
    Psych Rock
    Punk
    Punk Rock
    Raw Black Metal
    Raw Sludge
    Record Label
    Reese
    Reissue
    Relaxing
    Release Day Roundup
    Remix
    Re-recording
    Retro Rock
    Retrospective Review
    Review Off
    Review Redux
    Reviews
    Riffs
    Rock
    Rock N Roll
    Roots Rock
    Sabbath
    Sabbath Sunday
    Sadboi
    Saxophone
    Sci Fi
    Sci-fi
    Scorpi
    Screamo
    Shane Thirteen
    Shoegaze
    Short Reviews
    Singer-songwriter
    Ska
    Skramz
    Slam
    Sleeping Village Records
    Sleeping Village Sampler
    Slipknot
    Sludge
    Sludge Metal
    Soliloquist
    Solo Act
    Sound Design
    Soundtrack
    South America
    Southern Rock
    Space
    Space Rock
    Speed Metal
    Split
    Star Wars
    Statement Of Intent
    Stenchcore
    Stoner
    Stoner Doom
    Stoner Metal
    Stoner Rock
    Story Review
    Stream
    Surf Rock
    Swedeath
    Swedish Death Metal
    Symphonic Metal
    Synth
    Synth Metal
    Synthpop
    Synthwave
    Talesofdeception
    Tech Death
    Techdeath
    Technical Death Metal
    Texas
    The Administrator
    The Dungeon Awaits
    The Voiceless Apparation
    The Voiceless Apparition
    Thevoicelessapparition
    The Voiceless Appartition
    Thrash
    Thrashcore
    Thrash Metal
    Threefoldtreatise
    Tom
    Torture Doom
    Track-premiere
    Track Review
    Track Reviews
    Trad Doom
    Traditional Doom
    Traditional Metal
    Trad Metal
    Tribute Album
    True Doom
    Trve Doom
    Underground
    Usbm
    Vaporwave
    Vattghern
    Visual Review
    Volt Thrower
    War Metal
    Weird
    Zombie

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!