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

ABSCESSION - Rot of Ages (Review)

11/21/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Written by: The Administrator

​Alas. Despite what ye may have heard, it's not all ink, parchment, and drafty scriptoriums here at the Sleeping Village. As a semi-functional (and, yes, entirely fictional) medieval settlement, we are no strangers to physical labor. The crops must be harvested, the huts must be thatched, and, much to our chagrin, the primordial sewage pit doesn't just empty itself. And so, on days like this, when the workload is imposing and the potential for sweaty brows is nigh inevitable, we highfalutin peasants require a soundtrack befitting the tasks at hand. Enter, then, the always reliable Transcending Obscurity Records. More specifically, enter Abscession's monstrous (and varied) Rot of Ages.

Let me be blunt. This is exciting Swedeath at its finest. This is exciting, burly Swedeath at its finest. No, let me revise that once more. This is exciting, burly, melodically-inclined, beat-you-up-and-steal-your-lunch-money Swedeath at its absolute fuckin' finest. Despite having limited listening time by benefit of its recent release date, I'm comfortably considering this album among one of my favorite exemplars of the style released this year. Mostly because Abscession's view of said style feels uncommonly expansive. 

No doubt about it: this album is muscular and chunky as hell, and thereby serves up a healthy pummeling. But sheer heaviness does not constitute Abscession's full hand. Rot of Ages is a delectably balanced and nuanced piece, with many, many moments that stick out as poignant oddities and points of interest.  Sonically, this is a very diverse 40 minutes, which is not a phrase I was expecting to write when first selecting this album from the promo pit.

Rot of Ages understands balance and dynamic composition inordinately well, which, of course, results in a listening experience that is far from dull or predictable. "When The Guillotine Falls" is an obvious highlight track when it comes to unique inclusions, as the clean vocals, delicate synth, and general melodic undercurrent may not be the fare you expect from those who deal in chunky chainsaw riffs. But this song certainly isn't the only moment that breaks the mold.
​

​Take the stupendous piano-backed balladry that abruptly-yet-gracefully interrupts the title track, providing an unexpected and beautiful moment of clarity in the midst of chaos. "Rains of Death" features a heavy Gothenburg influence, with a clean lead repeatedly ripping through the churn, lending a notable melodic flair. Melodeath influences indeed abound across the album--take the back end of "Dead Man's Hate," where the colorful guitar in the outro is accentuated by benefit of contrast, considering the groovy fashion in which the vocals chase the preceding meaty riffage. "Eta Della Putrefazione" is an eerie synth-based number, heavy on the atmospherics with very little--beyond a general sense of menace--tying it to the album as a whole. But by some alchemical application of both skill and charisma, Abscession pull it off with great aplomb. Even on their more basic Swedeath oriented tracks, the genre's intoxicating potential is on full display. Take a track like opener “Rat King Crawl” or the invigorating "Final Furnace," wherein impossibly beastly riffs are paired with equally beastly (yet tastefully comprehensible) vocal delivery. Tracks like this are as blood-pumping as they are fun, and the sudden urge I have to rip a tree out of the ground feels like a reasonable reaction.

So, in sum, Rot of Ages delivers just the kind of HM-2 belligerence required to power us sleepy villagers through the a hard day's work. That said,
Abscession are far more than just another satisfying-but-forgettable Swedeath band. This album stands out from the crowd in a big way by benefit of its willingness to shake things up and utilize various sounds and styles to accomplish engaging songcraft. Abscession seek to bludgeon without relying exclusively on stale convention, and that's no small commitment.

​My final word? Rot of Ages is an excellent album littered with show-stopping moments. I highly recommend you give it a well-deserved listen.

​Abscession - Rot of Ages was released Nov. 19th, 2021 from Transcending Obscurity Records. Find it on bandcamp here!

Abscession can be found:
Bandcamp
​Facebook
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    WELCOME!

    We provide thoughtful reviews of music that wakes us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry.


    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021

    Categories

    All
    Acid Rock
    Adventure
    A High Quality Death Metal Album
    Album Premiere
    Album Stream
    Alternative Rock
    Ambient
    Antifascist
    AOTY
    Atmospheric
    Atmospheric Doom
    Avant Garde
    Blackened
    Blackened Death Metal
    Blackened Doom
    Blackened Thrash
    Black Metal
    Black 'n' Roll
    Brutal Death Metal
    Cinematic
    Classic Rock
    Cover Song
    Crust
    Crust Punk
    Dark Ambient
    Deathcore
    Death Doom
    Death Metal
    Death Thrash
    Demo
    Dissonant Death Metal
    Doomgaze
    Doom Metal
    Doomviolence
    Drone
    Dungeon Synth
    Electronic
    Electronica
    EP
    Epic Metal
    Europower
    Experimental
    Extreme Metal
    Faery Synth
    Folk Metal
    Fresh Meat Friday
    From The Archives
    Goregrind
    Gothic
    Grindcore
    Groove Metal
    Grunge
    Guest Post
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Harsh Noise
    Heavy Metal
    Heavy Psych
    Indie Rock
    Industrial Metal
    Instrumental
    Interview
    Jazz
    Lists 2022
    Mathcore
    Melodic Black Metal
    Melodic Metal
    Metallic Hardcore
    Metal Reviews
    Mini Reviews
    Music Video
    Noise
    NWOBHM
    NWOTHM
    Olde Reviews
    Old School Death Metal
    OSDM
    Pop Rock
    Post-hardcore
    Post Metal
    Post-metal
    Post-rock
    Power Electronics
    Power Metal
    Powerviolence
    Prog
    Progressive Death Metal
    Progressive Metal
    Progressive Rock
    Prog Rock
    Psych
    Punk
    Rap
    Raw Black Metal
    Release Day Roundup
    Retro Rock
    Retrospective Reviews
    Reviews
    Rock
    Sci-fi
    Ska
    Skate Punk
    Skramz
    Slam
    Sludge
    Soundtrack
    Speed Metal
    Split Releases
    Stoner
    Stoner Doom
    Stoner Metal
    Stoner Rock
    Stoner Thrash
    Swedeath
    Swedish Death Metal
    Symphonic Metal
    Synth
    Synthwave
    Thrash Metal
    Top 10
    Track Premiere
    Track Reviews
    Traditional Doom
    Traditional Metal
    Two Of A Perfect Pair
    USPM

    RSS Feed

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