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