Abscess - Dawn of Inhumanity

A quick glance at Abscess‘ lineup – members of Autopsy, early Death, and The Ravenous – and you know what you’re in for: primal, raw death metal straight from the grave. Dawn of Inhumanity (Peaceville, 2010) provides that in spades but adds some improvements. The production is clean but not overly compressed or slick, so the songs retain that grimy late-’80s feel without losing anything in the mix. Guitarists Clint Bower and Danny Coralles keep their tones in neck pickup territory for the most part, which gives tracks like “”Torn from Tomorrow” and “What Have We Done to Ourselves” a solid bottom end. Solos come courtesy of the School of Azagthoth; they switch from lurching and dissonant to streamlined and progressive, depending on the song.

There’s a dark streak of early hardcore punk running through Abscess, and it shows up most noticeably on “Never Sane Again” and “Darkside of a Broken Knife”. The cacophonous chorus riffs and go-for-broke vocals recall early COC and Black Flag, but run through the meat grinder of Hell Awaits and Black Metal.

Halfway through is “The Rotting Land”, a quasi-instrumental of high-tension guitars and raspy gurgles. It’s the soundtrack to the zombie apocalypse that death metal bands have prayed for since time began. That leads into “Dead Haze”, a fitting description for its doom-laden riffs and eerie ambience. Old-school DM should sound like it’s being played in the chapel from Kreator’s “Toxic Trace” video: foggy and evil. Atmosphere counts in this style, and Abscess have not forgotten that.

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