Necromass
Abyss Calls Life
[Dracma]
Normally when I update a review, it is to further praise the album (this was first reviewed in 1997, and although proclaimed as "GODLY", I don't think the review is perfectly clear). I really can't imagine re-doing a review just so our readers can look at it and go "oh good, he slagged it even harder this time". No, I just wanted to make it clearer how much I enjoy this album. "Abyss Calls Life" is quite possibly one of the most underrated, unappreciated metal albums EVER. Perhaps it's the miserable cover art, the bands difficulty in translating their lyrics into English, or that it was released on the rather small Dracma Records. Who knows?
It should be made extremely clear that "Abyss Calls Life" is one of the best metal records released in the 90s though. It's the perfect fusion of black metal, death metal, melodic riffs, and powerful vocals. I guess that's one of the reasons it hasn't had a chance to make it's rounds in metal circles around the world (the band ARE worshipped in Italy though, I had the chance to witness that first hand for a few years). The CD can't be cleanly categorized under one form of metal.
The reason why I consider "Abyss Calls Life" to be so extraordinary is because everything changes during its fifty minute run. The vocals never stay the same for example. They change with every riff, tempo change, and at times, even notes! Mostly pissed off dark sounding rasps, but peppered with tons of screams, growls, and laid back whispering.
The music is interesting in the same varied way. The riffs are mostly melodic, HIGHLY technical (without becoming muddled), yet change from aggressive to mellow at a non-stop rate. Because of this, the music can be rather angry at times, but becomes more melancholic in an instant (without becoming cheesy). Even some of the more aggressive riffs run off and shed their anger for a deeper sound, or the distortion is exchanged for cleanly picked bits. The first few times you listen to this album, you really don't know what's going to happen next. Early Rotting Christ meets Nocturnus' "The Key" and the melancholy of pre-pop Katatonia, with a more developed, post black metal sound? Perhaps…
I guess the best way to recommend this CD would be to add this comment: Having first picked up the album in Sept-Oct of 1996, and this being the end of 1999, I've listened to "Abyss Calls Life" at the very least on a weekly basis. For the £10 or so I spent on this, it's one of the finest metal investments I ever made…
© 2000 brand
It should be made extremely clear that "Abyss Calls Life" is one of the best metal records released in the 90s though. It's the perfect fusion of black metal, death metal, melodic riffs, and powerful vocals. I guess that's one of the reasons it hasn't had a chance to make it's rounds in metal circles around the world (the band ARE worshipped in Italy though, I had the chance to witness that first hand for a few years). The CD can't be cleanly categorized under one form of metal.
The reason why I consider "Abyss Calls Life" to be so extraordinary is because everything changes during its fifty minute run. The vocals never stay the same for example. They change with every riff, tempo change, and at times, even notes! Mostly pissed off dark sounding rasps, but peppered with tons of screams, growls, and laid back whispering.
The music is interesting in the same varied way. The riffs are mostly melodic, HIGHLY technical (without becoming muddled), yet change from aggressive to mellow at a non-stop rate. Because of this, the music can be rather angry at times, but becomes more melancholic in an instant (without becoming cheesy). Even some of the more aggressive riffs run off and shed their anger for a deeper sound, or the distortion is exchanged for cleanly picked bits. The first few times you listen to this album, you really don't know what's going to happen next. Early Rotting Christ meets Nocturnus' "The Key" and the melancholy of pre-pop Katatonia, with a more developed, post black metal sound? Perhaps…
I guess the best way to recommend this CD would be to add this comment: Having first picked up the album in Sept-Oct of 1996, and this being the end of 1999, I've listened to "Abyss Calls Life" at the very least on a weekly basis. For the £10 or so I spent on this, it's one of the finest metal investments I ever made…
© 2000 brand