Hailing from Oakland, California, Abscess is a punk and hardcore influenced death metal act that is poised to unleash their next wave of "sickodelia." That is their word, not mine, and it seems to fit. The band, formed by former Death and Autopsy drummer Chris Reifert, has been turning out their style of raw death since 1995. This is my first experience with them and is likely to be my last.
The more I listen to Dawn of Inhumanity, the more bored with it I get. Yes it is raw, yes it is intimate, yes it is aggressive, but it does not really go anywhere. The album runs more than 52-minutes and spans 10 songs. Each time I listen, the longer it seems to be. It has been quite some time since I can say I was so utterly bored listening to music.
I am not a big fan of old school punk or hardcore and it feels as if this is where Abscess took most of their influences on their way to making death metal. It has the feel of a do it yourself project where your materials are all second-hand and not in the best shape to begin with. Still, you soldier on putting the pieces in all the right places despite the fact they don't fit. When you are done and you step back to survey your creation, you see what looks like what you wanted, but it is rickety and surely will not stand for long. Such is Dawn of Inhumanity. I hear what is a purportedly metal, but it is muddled, muffled, and poorly executed. It covers the bare minimum of what can be technically called music. There are rhythms, instruments are employed, and you can sort of move to it. Aside from that, it threatens to put me into a coma.
Article comments
1 - fiend
why are you even reviewing it when you have no qualification to appreciate this type of music? lol how about you ask your grandma?! she'll do just as well! Autopsy and Abscess are like no other. Period.
2 - Chris
Fk this. The new Abscess rules.