ALBUM REVIEW: Pyramids Of Damnation – Aborted Fetus

Pyramids Of Damnation is the seventh album from Russian death metal heroes ABORTED FETUS, this time taking inspiration from ancient Egypt. As the follow up to 2018’s The Ancient Spirits of Decay, Pyramids Of Damnation is a solid effort and exactly what everyone has come to expect from the Russian quartet. Eschewing some of the more progressive techniques of several contemporaries in exchange for a focus on brutal, old-school CANNIBAL CORPSE style death metal. Few of the songs on this 15 track record go over five minutes long, and it is this short but powerful barrage of gut punches that makes this album so impactful.

With Igor’s vocals not even kicking in until the second song Earth’s Bloody Punishment, opener Pharaoh’s Disasters is a kick in the face that completely wakes up every listener from a potential daze that they might have been in – with some of the heaviest instrumentals of the year. With a slick groove to their riffs, this isn’t exactly an accessible record, but it does have a sense of melody to it that is missing from a lot of more extreme death metal – think more THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER than CATTLE DECAPITATION.

Obviously this record is set around ancient Egypt, and a lot of the song titles take inspiration from the biblical 10 plagues, including Execution By Toads, Invasion Of Bloodsucking Insects and Cattle Pestilence. These biblical thematics climax at the same time as the album, with the final full song being Pharaoh Firstborn’s Execution, mimicking the final plague of all firstborn Egyptian sons dying before the Pharaoh finally allowed the Israelites their freedom.

In tackling the 10 plagues, ABORTED FETUS have given themselves lots of source material to work from, and it shows as they dive into the Abrahamic mythology and highlight the brutality of these plagues that is often glossed over in modern religious retellings. Listeners can hear the absolute viciousness through Igor’s huge growls, whilst guitarist Meatgrinder adds layers upon layers for maximum violence.

The viciousness of the majority of this album is underscored by rare moments of tranquillity when traditional Egyptian music is utilised in the opening to several songs, most notably on Queen’s Prophecy, which is then followed up by one of the most instantly hard-hitting songs in Cattle Pestilence. The contrast between the two styles is a fantastic example of dynamics being used in death metal, as constant blastbeats and screaming could leave listeners fatigued by a fairly one-dimensional album, however ABORTED FETUS avoid this through clever framing. Yes while a lot of this record may be traditional death metal fare, it is done extremely well, with an interesting subject matter and some experimental elements added in that add just enough flair for this to become more interesting.

15 songs is too long for an album like this however, and by the end listeners will often find themselves fatigued, especially considering a lot of the songs do follow similar structures. Considering that a lot of this record is themed around the 10 plagues sure it would’ve made thematic sense for this to be a 10 song record? Either way it does drag on just a bit too long.

However this is a solid death metal record overall, and the experience on display by ABORTED FETUS does more than enough to tide listeners through any moments where energy might flag. If this was a bit shorter then it would definitely be one of the death metal releases of the year, however it is just that sense of fatigue that eventually kicks in. The subject matter is a unique take on a biblical event, and musically the Russian band sound as solid as ever – this would be a great pick-up for anyone who loves death metal and biblical stories, a strange overlap for sure, but one that seems to work here.

Rating: 7/10

Pyramids of Damnation is out now via Comatose Music.

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