| Abramelin ‘Transgressions from Acheron’
Dark Oceans Productions, 1994 Gloon: The aptly titled ‘Transgressions from Acheron’ sees the bands first release under their new moniker Abramelin and features four kick arse ditties of brutal old school death metal. Opening with a traditional horror movie sample (taken from The Thing), the band then launch into the bludgeoning beauty of ‘Human Abattoir’. Featuring blistering riffing complemented by the occasional off kilter chugging of Suffocation and slower dirgier passages of Obituary it sets the tone and standard for the rest of the album. Next up is the standout ‘Humble Abode’ which was later re recorded for their full length debut. The EP is then rounded off with the slower brooding ‘Dearly Beloved’ and the punishing ‘Relish the Blood’. With a raw production and Tim’s quirky riffs and Simons demonic growls this truly is a little gem and acted as the perfect stepping stone and launch pad for their awesome debut. Well worth trying to track down. Favourite Tracks – All Rating – 7.5/10 Abramelin Shock , 1995 Lord Pale : Abramelin play heavy groove laden mid paced Australian deathmetal. Down tuned guitars fade between Bolt Thrower praise through to slow heavy Six Feet Under style riffing, but they never sound like a clone, giving the music their own unique twist. Melodic overlay riffs can be found in tracks like 'Spiritual Justice' and add a nice feel to the lyrical concepts presented, as well as breaking into short bouts of soloing. Vocal delivery varies from a deep deathy growl to blackened rasps switching between the two to highlight various elements of the lyrics. Speaking of the lyrics, they focus on such charming themes as ( and this is putting it mildly compared to how the lyrics are written ) kidnapping, molesting and then mutilating 6 yr old girls, necrophilia with corpses that aren't quite dead yet, and corporal punishment. The final song on the album is a cover of Dead Can Dance's 'Cantara' which is a slower tribal chanting piece with clear vocals and acoustic guitars, which makes an interesting contrast to the rest of the disk. Overall Abramelin remain purveyors of high quality, sick, hard to define Aussie deathmetal, get it. Favourite Tracks - Humble Abode , Grave Ideals , Misfortune Mark - 8/10 Abramelin ‘Deadspeak’ Shock , 2000 Lord Pale : 5 years on and 2 band members down, Abramelin return with another slab of sick Australian deathmetal grooves. The lyrics are as quaint as before, a little boy that burnt his parents alive, who has grown up and gets off on burning his victims and wanking on the embers, through to germ warfare, and aggravated home invasion. Deadspeak is basically very similar to their self titled debut release and style-wise they haven't changed at all so fans of that album will find much to like about this one too. What has changed is a slightly better production and a more polished feel overall including a better drum sound, more mature song writing ( now all played by Tim Aldridge, the guitarist from the original line up ), and better performed vocals ( the usual rasps and deathy growls ). Although this album moves to establish a more individual Abramelin sound some of Bolt Thrower's doomier moments can still occasionally be heard throughout Deadspeak’s tracks. Overall, another fine effort from Australia’s leading deathmetal act. Favourite Tracks - Waste , Plague , Your Casualty Mark - 8/10 |
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