ALBUM REVIEW: Abysmal Ascent – Amputate

Although they may have only formed back in 2011, Portuguese-born, Switzerland-based death metallers AMPUTATE embrace a sound that sound like it was pulled straight from the genres 90s heyday, whilst crucially ensuring that their music is lively and inventive enough to differentiate it from the vast majority of stale sounding acts that are attempting to keep the classic style alive in the present day.

The bands first two albums, 2016’s Tortura Macabra and 2022’s Dawn of Annihilation are both brilliant albums that possess a dark and imposing sound that is full of imaginative, technical musicianship that has quickly marked this ferocious four piece out as one of the best modern OSDM bands, with very little in the way of fat in their leaner and domineering sound. The band’s latest record, Abysmal Ascent, is yet another musical triumph that tightens up their already near flawless sound, providing perhaps the bands, and indeed recent OSDM’s, finest moments.

I Am Genocide, a muscular piece of chunky death metal with huge, weighty rhythms, soaring leads and rumbling gutturals, is an impressive start that quickly establishes the bands sound, with the fierce style being incredibly evocative of bands like ACHERON in its intensity and robust power, kicking things off in razor sharp fashion. Abysmal Ascent, with its haunting, opening motif, suddenly lurches into a meaty slab of death metal that takes the brilliant sound of the album’s opener and injects a generous dose of speed and chaotic aggression, with leads that alter between focused melodicism and frenetic flourishes with ease, embracing a forceful feel that makes this fantastically impactful.

Malevolent Manifestation provides a thicker style, with bleak hooks and sludgy undercurrent courtesy of both guitars and bass, with the throaty, impenetrable vocals only adding to the effect, with jarring touches peppered throughout to lend this a harsher edge, resulting in something massive and monstrous. Cavernous Temple Of The Absurd reverts to the kind of huge, groove-laden approach that was present on the first song, with the monolithic rhythmic backbone being supplemented by dancing, energetic guitars and dense growls, once again adopting a classic sound whilst managing to not being formulaic, and allowing for great, standalone basslines that cut through the grating elements to add even more depth to the music. Hybrid Organism, an angular and biting instrumental effort with some imaginative and lively guitar work, allows the great musicianship to carry the music, making for a subtle change in the formula that accentuates the power of the music.

Extractive Monolith, another magnificent juggernaut in the vein of I Am Genocide and Cavernous Temple Of The Absurd, with especially domineering and intricate drumming developing a cavernous backdrop to the excellent riffs and coarse vocals, serves as yet another belligerent and savage slab of extremity that embraces a lot of ideas to achieve its stunning effect. Sepulcro returns to the mid-paced, expansive sound of Malevolent Manifestation, complete with ponderous, drawn out riffs, vitriolic vocals and pummelling percussion, a stylistic choice that enables the underlying drama to creep to the forefront and making this utterly engrossing.

Venomous Prophecies, a blistering, punishing cut of gnarled and visceral death thrash, is a stunningly rabid and noxious effort that stands as one of the albums most bestial tracks, boasting by some of its sharpest technical flourishes. Visceral Dominion, the last full track on the record, acts out its role of masterfully enacted climactic number, being perhaps only second place in the heaviness stakes next to its predecessor, with a dizzying whirlwind of biting guitars, machine gun drumming and bubbling bass instantly marking it out as a piercing and precise piece of music that is extremely tight despite its cacophonous bent. The melodic edge that is introduced as the song reaches its final stage adds an epic quality into the music, rounding off this album brilliantly, with the short, sharp shock of feral hooks, opaque gutturals and gargantuan rhythmic intensity that comprises Perpetuum feeling more like an afterthought than a full blown album closer.

This is a great album, whether you are a fan of old school death metal or not. It certainly could be argued that the music present here doesn’t really deviate from a tried and tested 90s death metal formula, but this is one of those rare albums that adopts a familiar style, remains faithful to it throughout, yet is so inventive with its songwriting and powerful in its approach that it’s actually a fantastic example of an established sound and style, making it easy to get drawn into and look past some of its more formulaic moments. Abysmal Ascent has got an energy and intensity at various points that makes it sound extremely tight and fresh compared with many albums of this ilk, elevating it above all but a slim number of current acts operating in a similar musical vein, and adding yet another stunning record to this band’s already impressive body of work.

Rating: 9/10

Abysmal Ascent is out now via Massacre Records. 

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