ALBUM REVIEW: Labyrinth Of Veins – Static Abyss
If you’ve been following extreme metal for any time at all, chances are you’ll be aware of AUTOPSY, the death-doom pioneers from California. Often credited as influences for the likes of IMMOLATION, DEICIDE and CANNIBAL CORPSE, they are an important piece of metal history (or metal present, if their recent reunion is anything to bank on).
In the meantime, drummer and vocalist Chris Reifert (also formerly of DEATH) and guitarist/bassist Greg Wilkinson have struck out on their own with STATIC ABYSS. The duo have tapped into their legendary gore roots to produce 10 tracks of audio horror in the shape of Labyrinth Of Veins. It’s an album that “explores the echoes of insanity manifested through human existence“, and with song titles such as Morgue Rat Fever, Contort Until Death and You Are What You Kill, it’s safe to say this won’t be the soundtrack to everyone’s summer barbecues.
Exploding to life with Feasting On Eyes, there is something distinctly old-school in the recording. There is enough polish to bring this into the 21st Century, but there are moments that feel like these could be lost recordings from AUTOPSY‘s hey-day in the 1990s. Gritty, grimy and ferocious, this is pure unadulterated death metal. But then after 90 seconds or so, they take a sudden turn into doom territory: everything slows all the way down, and becomes an even more ferocious beast in doing so. It’s a looming, loathsome performance by Weifert, his unmistakable vocals continuing to strike fear into the hearts of those who hear it, and in STATIC ABYSS‘ brooding, doomy iteration, it’s clear that the duo’s primary goal is to soundtrack abject horror.
Lead track Jawbone Ritual is a particularly fearsome beast; from rapid-fire blastbeats and frenetic energy, the song contorts wildly once again into a creeping mass of the nastiest, heaviest, chugging-est riffs imaginable. This is a track (and band) that swings from the maniacal stylings of frenzied slasher horrors like A Nightmare On Elm Street, to the psychologically punishing, crushing horror of say, Hereditary. The visual equivalent of Labyrinth Of Veins would be watching these films one scene at a time, interchangeably.
And therein lies the issue. To watch films in that way would be maddening. So too does it become the case in music. After a while, the trick of shifting gears from death to doom at breakneck speeds begins to lose its hideous sheen; some of the contrasts are so stark that it feels like two songs have just been smashed together. It’s all done to a high degree, but in terms of sequencing and flow for a whole album, it does nothing to stop this feeling like a compilation of recordings from over the years as opposed to a single piece of work.
For all the pedigree on offer here, Labyrinth Of Veins lacks that vice grip bite you may be expecting. There’s some solid content for sure but as an album, STATIC ABYSS‘ first foray isn’t a patch on Reifert and Wilkinson‘s disgusting legacies.
Rating: 6/10
Labyrinth Of Veins is out now via Peaceville Records.
Like STATIC ABYSS on Facebook.