ALBUM REVIEW: Depths – Abhoria
When ABHORIA came onto the scene a couple of years ago with their self-titled debut album, their dystopian universe exuded a technical and proficient air that elevated them above “just another black metal band”. Back for round two and boasting a whole extra band member, ABHORIA are cementing everything great about them and adding tremendous new qualities on Depths.
From its outset, Depths plumbs new… ahem, depths… in sonic terror, the off-kilter opening riff managing to make you bang your head and make your skin crawl at the same time. At a shade under two minutes, it’s a fast and furious reminder of who ABHORIA are and why you should be paying attention, the band laying their cards out on the table with hellish vocals, drums that lick like the tongues of a raging inferno, a bass that feels as if it’s lodged within your cerebral cortex and more of those funhouse guitars that wobble and rumble at every turn.
The stand out highlight of the album comes from The Well, which best exemplifies everything that ABHORIA excel at, particularly the Orwellian hellscapes that inform their writing. This particular track is about a well filled with poisoned water and a sole voyeur – a refugee – who witnesses his companions perish as they drink the tainted liquid. It’s an outstanding exercise in storytelling in both lyricism and musicality, as the guitar solos and ramped up tension really make the gravity of the situation apparent. The deeply troubling poetry of “Our weakened forms, too weathered to withstand the storm / Like fire through a forest, one by one they are all taken” makes the desolation and desperation all the more real, and is proof of ABHORIA’s burgeoning talents as storytellers.
Later, tracks like They Hunt At Night and Devour further solidify their new-found confidence and efficacy as a fledgling five-piece, now allowing the dual guitars of Trevor Portz and Theo Romeo to focus on winding riffage and grotesque embellishments, while dedicated vocalist Ben Pitts (of IN THE COMPANY OF SERPENTS) can spew venomous bile to his heart’s content. Meanwhile, the rhythm section of Igor Panasewicz on bass and JS on drums are machine-like in their pace and precision, never languishing for a moment in the blitzing of their tools.
Winter’s Embrace closes the album with one final whirlwind of black metal fury, tinged with a sadness that pervades the whole record, this time centring on the crushing weight of everything we deal with day to day until the end: “A wave of memories, both real and fabricated / Washes over our damned society / Clinging to something we never had / Utopian visions… atrocious lies.” The band’s ability to make real life experiences this bleak and nightmarish is second to none, and it gives Depths a relatable quality that should resonate with all who hear it.
Depths is the sound of a band that knows exactly who they want to be. Combining the darkness and mirth of black metal with an accessibility and lightness that makes the album repeatable and digestible makes ABHORIA’s second full-length effort a marked step up from an already-solid debut outing.
Rating: 8/10
Depths is set for release on January 19th via Prosthetic Records.
Like ABHORIA on Facebook.