Review by Adam M on December 12, 2014.

Abysmal Dawn display a straightforward take on death metal that is littered with blast beats. The music on this album is played at a breakneck pace that is always exhilarating. The band’s style is unusually unique, despite not being terribly forward thinking. Nile and Suffocation are decent reference points, but there is more of a focus on speed than there is with either of those bands.

Though there is some technical prowess to the band’s performance, the razor sharp riffs are written in a fashion that lends to musical tightness as well. The problem some people are having with the band is that they think they sound generic and don’t do anything interesting. I largely disagree with this sentiment. I’ll point to the cover of the Dissection song alone as an inventive take on the already excellent original Night’s Blood. It’s also interesting because a hint of Dissection can be detected in the band’s sound along with the other death metal influences. The excellent drumming in Human Obsolescence is another example of a moment that is intriguing enough to stick out from the pack.

Obsolescence is certainly one of the most consistent collections of death metal songs released this year. It may not have a neat aspect to carry it to a higher plane like the shoegaze in Fallujah’s The Flesh Prevails, however. Many death metal fans will also find this album punishing in the weight of its music. This makes for an album that is perfect to head bang along to. The power of the music also covers up a slight lack of the use of an appropriate mood that the band could have emphasized more. Regardless, Obsolescence is an excellent slab of death metal that fans of the genre should be enamored with.

Rating: 8 out of 10