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Our homegrown death metal masters are back at work with another unrelenting splatterfest.
Draped in appropriately gory art, Abramelin’s fourth album rips open with the savagery of Conflagration of the Dreamers, setting the tone for the barbarity to follow. The tastefully-named The Gory Hole shares similar levels of brutal energy, cataclysmic drumming and epic riffing, upholding Abramelin’s long reputation for powerful rhythmic death metal.
As always, Simon Dower’s lyrics plumb depths of extreme violent depravity that very few exceed, given voice with a deep and malignant roaring growl. The departure of Tim Aldridge hasn’t changed Abramelin’s murderous intent too much, other than to give Matt Wilcock further licence to add unexpected moments of melody into the band’s gruelling gorefests. His soloing is sharp and succinct, but with occasional eerie moments like in Man’s Best Friend, bringing that extra dimension always apparent in Abramelin’s work. Tracks like Last Rite and Shell of a Man have truly catchy, pit-churning change-ups too, the first of which is probably the album stand-out with its mix of classic metal feel and groove-ridden menace. Further thrash influences filter through into Deceased Estate, a further example of the diversity across Sins of the Father.
You Bleed, I Feed closes out this exploration of brutality with all the intensity they can muster, outright death metal destruction and blood-soaked violence with Wilcock slicing his way through the carnage with scalpel-like precision.
Abramelin never fail to deliver gory, unrepentant metal extremity. Sins of the Father is further proof of their unhinged and depraved brilliance.
