Review by Fran on February 7, 2026.

This compilation consists of “Abiogenesis” (re-recordings of pre-Origin songs from a couple of projects Paul Ryan played in when he was young: Necrotomy and Thee Abomination) and a remastered version of their debut EP, “A Coming into Existence”. On the Necrotomy tracks (1,4-7), riffing is pretty straightforward, typical death/grind; I loved the energy and the way Paul Ryan’s demented high-pitched vocals blend in. Needless to say, this material is nowhere near as technical as post-2002 Origin records but it’s still pretty interesting. For example, “Bleed as Me” features nice arpeggio colorations, and its mid-tempo pace contrasts with the rest of the album and gives more punch to it.

On the other hand, The Abomination tracks (2,3,8) sound more chaotic in the fast sections but also feature more slow breakdowns. I’d add they are even closer to pure grindcore than their Necrotomy counterparts, but all the tracks are fairly similar overall. It’s somehow refreshing that they revisited this material after releasing a bunch of ultra-technical albums, with the same line-up and modern recording methods and equipment. As much as I love tech-death, expression and emotion weigh more in extreme metal; a band doesn’t need a thousand notes to capture a feeling. The last four tracks -“A Coming into Existence”- are more dynamic rhythmically, both in the percussion and the strings, and they have this punishing, machine-like, industrial undertone and a more mature composition style.

“Abiogenesis” features only one guitar, so you can hear a lot of Mike Flores’ finger-picking bass prodigy. He used a nice distortion that widens the strings and adds to the lone guitar, but you can also hear the metallic tone of the high-end every time he plucks a string, and it hits the fretboard. He is one of my favorite bassists for sure. The guitar tone is pretty sharp and fuzzy, grindcore as fuck. John Longstreth is a hell of a drummer as well and excels at playing these rather simple -at least for him- tracks. “A Coming into Existence” was recorded by a more humble line-up, but the execution is still pretty neat, and the material shows glimmers of greatness. 27 minutes and 51 seconds long, “Abiogenesis - A Coming Into Existence” should be an enjoyable listen for any extreme metal fanatic.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10