ALBUM REVIEW: Cracked & Bled – After the Abduction

Upon the first opening riff of Cracked & Bled, the debut album from AFTER THE ABDUCTION, one can instantly feel a close similarity to the newest CRYPTOPSY works. The ferocious guitars and pummelling of the double-bass obtains reminiscence of a band that has meticulously and progressively purified their sound for each release. On Cracked & Bled, the Manchester death metal quintet display some tasty licks of finely tuned, death metal creativity.

Currently signed as a UKEM Records release, Cracked & Bled plays closest to a death metal outing with a clutter of crackling guitar riffs, kick-to-the-groin double-pedal drumming and an unbending vocal onslaught powered by guttural screams from singer Chris Sykes. The opener Blood and Flat Bastard enter with simple, yet crushing guitar lines that runs with an expeditious tempo as drums blend machine gun pedalling. To a certain respect, many of these torturous intros play out like those of a SUFFOCATION composition as bass and drums add a second layer of heaviness to the savagery. This aspect of AFTER THE ABDUCTION‘s music is truly managed with masterful ease from drummer Liam MacBeath.

There is much to enjoy greatly in the untamed accuracy and knife-edged grooves that occur in every single track on Cracked & Bled. Sykes’s growls barrage through the turmoil of hefty guitars and fierce drums. The production, while maybe not the most organic thing on the planet, puts a lot of weight behind all the instruments and everything that needs clarity in the mix, can be heard clearly. There is no indicator of disparity within the album’s seven songs, because every track is the same methodical exercise of AFTER THE ABDUCTION’s sound. That does not have to be a bad thing.

Cracked & Bled is energetic, consistently violent and surely free of anything which would suit the terms “cloying” or “melodic”. AFTER THE ABDUCTION show that they are not the kind of group to diverge from what they aim to initially, and if anything, this is what the album succeeds in achieving with every song. The title track unsurprisingly showcases the band’s greatest powers: a powerhouse of constantly changing riff work and violent vocal bellows. With its volatile delivery from the beginning, it’s an introductory session which portrays AFTER THE ABDUCTION as a band that certainly owns their sound. They traverse various differing paces but maintain the level of belligerence from start to finish. Whilst more groove-infused songs such as Stuck in Fat and Lay and Decay succeed in bringing the open-mouthed notions of loathe and repugnance down a bit, the faster, thrash-y instances in Gagged in the Arse and Mourning Rock make up for any deprivation of impetus.

Rating: 7/10

Cracked & Bled is out on March 27th via UKEM Records.

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