Review by TheOneNeverSeen on September 28, 2024.

Abramelin are one of the most interesting "modern" death metal bands in my opinion. While not being pioneers of any particular genre, they somehow manage to be so diverse in their style it’s very hard to describe the latter. The peculiar combination of melody, heaviness and evil in all of their albums, especially the debut one, makes Abramelin stand out a lot as a death metal act. For instance, 'Your Casualty' possesses both a Cannibal Corpse-like intro and an early Hypocrisy-like riff without being discordant or pretentiously complex. Some Deadspeak songs even have black metal-like melodies (for example, 'Pleasures' and 'Bleeding Hearts'). And, while Never Enough Snuff did mark a shift towards more melodic death metal reminiscent of Cannibal Corpse, the band stayed true to their roots and did not depart from their curious songwriting style (the album’s solos, although not matching the epicness of the 'Final Biopsy' one being especially evidential of that). Their newest effort Sins of the Father is also a powerful and memorable work that anyone looking for unusual death metal should give a listen to.

The sound of Sins of the Father is somewhat cleaner than that of its predecessor with the guitar becoming more prominent in the mix. I welcome this change as, great as they were, the guitar melodies of Never Enough Snuff didn’t stand out as much as they do here. The drums have become somewhat sharper, while Dower’s vocals are consistently malignant as always, his delivery reminding me a little of Mikael Åkerfeldt’s on Bloodbath’s first and third albums. The songs are a bit shorter than on Never Enough Snuff, but retain just enough complexity to be neither simplistic nor overly repetitive.

Starting the album off is its first single with an epic title 'Conflagration of the Dreamers'. It’s a consistently powerful and catchy song the main technical riff of which reminds me of that of 'Horror-Zontal'. Besides that, the track offers a brief yet appropriate solo reminiscent of those of the band’s third album and unexpected harmonies by the end. The second song, 'The Gory Hole' also possesses an epic riff, rabid drumming and monstrous levels of energy, which makes it similar to songs like 'Flesh Furnace' and 'The Peeler'. The rest of the songs also offer high-quality rhythmical and melodic death metal that will be a pleasure to come back to.

While, as its predecessor, the album is not nearly as evil as the band’s self-titled ('Stargazer (The Summoning)' and 'Invocation' beat both Never Enough Snuff and Sins of the Father in that sense), what it loses in heaviness it gains in technicality and diversity. While all songs besides 'You Bleed, I Feed' are consistently fast-paced, elements like the eerie solo of 'Man’s Best Friend' and the... metalcore-like? parts of 'Last Rite' and 'Shell of a Man' ensure they don’t feel uniform or redundant. Overall, the album is even stronger than its predecessor as it has no weak songs or just generally songs that feel as though they don’t belong here.

So, Sins of the Father is definitely the strongest death metal album this year so far. Its sheer might coupled with a huge number of interesting choices make it a truly remarkable release and also a good piece of evidence Abramelin are still strong as a band even 30 years since their debut album.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Jeger on August 24, 2024.

Abramelin - pioneers of the Australian death metal scene and bastard sons of gorehog - are set to unleash another toxic-as-fuck defilement in their forthcoming Sins Of The Father LP, set for an October 4, 2024 release via the repugnant Hammerheart Records. Holding true to collective tradition, we can expect another horrifying experience as conveyed through the detailing of setting people on fire as they sleep during the opening track, 'Conflagration Of The Dreamers' and an old-fashioned glory hole. Okay, it’s 'The Gory Hole' and I don’t think you wanna stick your cock through it… Both tracks stylistically cover conventional DM ground, but with a slathering of various nuanced parts to keep your nose down and focused, like having your head between your favorite stripper’s legs.

'Sins Of The Father' delivers an evenly keeled balance of fundamentals and dynamics; making for a record that’s bound to suit any and all levels of connoisseurism. This isn’t your uber-technical American death metal, as that has never really been the Aussie way. Down under, DM is more of a primitive affair, murderous, disturbing, and uncomplicated. Like if “Dying Fetus” made an album with zero breakdowns and focused even more on writing profound yet still dread-inducing lyrics.

With ‘91’s “Necroticism - Descanting The Insalubrious”, England’s Carcass were “Pushing back against what was dumb in metal.” The album was put together with the idea of creating an almost lucid experience where real-life images of decomposed corpses and grisly murders were evoked, as opposed to the cartoonish nature of American DM. That’s exactly the way Sins Of The Father feels, and a little Carcass worship to boot in 'Shell Of A Man': similar riffing patterns, similar soloing style, and much like “Necroticism”, a simple affair up until the closing couple of minutes where Abramelin unleash every weapon in their sonic arsenal. Cannibalism is a common theme here, and as you take in 'Meet The Meat', you’ll be reminded of the mighty Nile and percussionist George Kollias as drummer David Haley exhibits akin levels of raw power and speed along with plenty of those “try and keep up, boys” moments that have kept me on this ride for its duration.

Just a nicely balanced compositional piece here, unfortunately tainted by questionable mixing/mastering. Percussion dominates everything… Shocker… The guitar tone is too warm and soft to be backed by such overpowering percussion, and the rhythm guitar is hardly audible during some parts. Keep the bass turned down if you wanna save your speakers. An engineering abomination? Not quite that bad, but nothing to write me about either. That being said, I mean, did you see the fucking cover art? Wait till you get an earful of this one, too, because it’s sure to arouse the inner beast - that little part of you that may or may not want to actually kill someone. We’re all murderers, most of us just haven’t met the right person yet… Take an additional step toward the freedom of psychosis with Sins Of The Father - a straight shot of killing energy to the cortex.

The path to true Australian death metal lain by our boys here - one of the international scene’s most criminally underrated and vastly unheard of to this day bands. These dudes aren’t trying to take over the world with their music. What we have here instead is proper death metal to the bone. Not a second’s worth of wasted recording space, just balls-through-the-grinder death metal the whole way through. And if you happen to like it LOUD and totally bass-dominant, then, by all means, indulge yourself. A perfect record for you, but not so much for this ole boy…

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on July 17, 2024.

Discovering great obscure bands can be very difficult nowadays, but if you know where to look, then it really is a rewarding experience once you find them. Such is the case with the melodic gothic/death metal one-man band Autumns Eyes, founded by Daniel Mitchell, whom I discovered through the amazing Scars and Guitars podcast show that I frequently watch. During this episode, he mentioned that a new album will be out in the near future, which was previously teased with singles 'Follow The Embers' and 'Faith In Cycles', but come June 20th 2024, the ninth full-length album Grimoire Of Oak & Shadow was finally released independently on digital streaming platforms. If you are curious to see what story this album has to tell, then be prepared for the journey you're about to embark on.

Autumns Eyes provides very heavy sombre serenades from the very get-go, drenched in sorrow and melancholy, yet also shrouded in mystery, with a very autumn-like atmosphere that plays with your imagination, as if leaves are already going dry and falling down in September. All of this is nicely presented through melodic gothic metal that oozes with simplistic but catchy riffs, powerful guitar melodies, magical keyboards, Peter Steele styled deep vocals and occasional shouting vocals. It's got a very strong sense of stylistic consistency that carries over from start to finish, maintaining an even level of tragedy and heaviness that flows through each song, with some exceptional moments that really succeed at playing with your emotions. Take for example the track 'Late To Live, Early To Die', which displays such intensity and pain through the music that in its essence carries the personal struggles surrounding the loss of a loved one, with such incredible capability of reflecting on the last moments before death. When I got as far as here, I was very close to shed a tear, because such expressions of heavy emotions and melodies can definitely make you cry, especially if you can relate to the nature and the background of the song. I think that this song definitely has a story to tell, but I believe that one should not overlook how Daniel Mitchell managed to carry out what he was holding inside and then transfer that in a musical form in such a genius way. The further the album progresses, it's impossible to not become immersed into its atmosphere and become one with the journey through the deep forest, because once you get halfway through, you are guaranteed to become completely possessed by the spell that hides behind Autumns Eyes. The more you wander, the more you are filled with anticipation of what will happen next, while being completely oblivious to what is going on around you or where this journey may lead you. With an execution such as this, it is pretty much like a fast forward to September, as the album practically goes further in time with summer dying fast. Amongst all of this you will hear various elements coming from bands such as Type O Negative, Moonspell, Dark Tranquility, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, with a bit of Children Of Bodom on a couple of tracks that go in a melodic death metal direction like 'Prophet Fearing' and 'Violation Of Light'. Considering how this journey was met with a lot of inner struggles and challenges, you would expect a grand climax in the form of an epic finale that concludes this transcendental experience, and it rightfully does with 'Sorrow & Sunlight', the final and longest track on the album that feels like a moment where protagonist looks back on the events that unfolded along the way, while hearing the voices of those lost but not forgotten. The conclusion is met with a strong sense of reflection and remembrance, which is like a scene in a movie where you see glimpses of the things that the protagonist has been through while moving on with his life.

With all that said, I think it speaks for itself that this album has quite the dynamic songwriting with a variety of musical ideas with different styles and frequent tempo changes, which was well executed in a way that it constantly keeps things interesting and never tiresome or overencumbered. What this album did pretty well aside from the songwriting is that it provides a strong storytelling quality to it, which is basically like reading through an author's private dairy/journal where he expresses the turmoil and difficulties he's going through, or a grimoire that essentially summons spirits of the forest that watch over you with every footstep. It's always rewarding when you come across a magical album such as this that essentially gives you the perspective of the protagonist, experiencing everything from a first person point of view, but I think that is actually a matter of relating to the main character and his personal background, which I believe we can all share through the same eyes. I don't really recall an album with such capability and quality that affects you in such a way, if you ask me I think it's just a matter of human nature, the ability to connect with the band through their music, and I can easily tell that it proved itself to be more than effective. While listening to this album, I kept asking myself why am I feeling such a big personal attachment to it, and I didn't know if it had something to do with its melancholic gothic atmosphere, the overall musical output, the lyrical themes, or all of the above. It is a matter of one's interpretation, and naturally everybody is going to have a different answer to that question, but I think we can all agree that there is a bit of everything that binds us together with the spirit of Autumns Eyes, so there really is no right or wrong conclusion. Grimoire Of Oak & Shadow has a very top-notch and clean production with a nice organic sound that perfectly balances every bit of instrumentation, as well as the vocal work.

What can I say, Grimoire Of Oak & Shadow turned out to be such a pleasant and magical experience worth the while, and I can definitely say that it was incredibly life-changing. Call me crazy, but when the album came to a conclusion, I felt somewhat sad because it was really like seeing that final scene in Return of the King when our main heroes sailed to the Grey Havens, a beautiful story that came to an end. Like I said before, this is a journey that takes you to a different place by constantly playing with your imagination, always creating powerful images and building up the story the further it progresses. If you really fancy some melodic gothic metal, you should not miss out on this album, because you will find something alien and otherworldly in its nature.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10