Release Date- 5th August 2022
Label - Transcending Obscurity Records
Words - Chris Fletcher
Working on their sound and perfecting their unique blend of grindcore and death metal since the 90’s, Irish veterans Abaddon Incarnate are back to cave-in skulls with their sixth full-length album ‘The Wretched Sermon’. Offering thirteen break-neck tracks of ferocious extremity, the band are at the top of their game and are ready to claim their place amongst the forefront of the grindcore scene.
Opening with a glorious drum fill before kicking in with a hefty riff and intricate lead guitar part, first track ‘Rising of the Lights’ kicks things off in fine style and lets us know what we are letting ourselves in for. Elsewhere on the record, ‘Shrine of Flesh’ demonstrates a real groove whilst eleventh track ‘Hyperchaos’ lives up to its name with aplomb. Truth be told picking a standout track is no easy task, but a special mention must go to the album's longest track ‘Isolation and Decay’ which encapsulates a lot of what the band has to offer over the course of seven minutes, before giving way to the white-hot fury of closing track ‘Silent Indifference’ (which is anything but).
The production here is well suited to this type of frantic aural assault, with enough grit and crunch on the riffs to really pack a punch, whilst the lead guitar cuts through with all the subtlety of a rusty chainsaw. The rhythm section also deserves a shout-out here, with the driving bass and pounding drums contributing massively to the constant forward propulsion you experience throughout.
Although this is a grind/death metal record at heart, the band manage to find enough variation to keep the listener guessing, never becoming formulaic and offering changes of pace and even breakdowns which help to keep things feeling fresh and exciting, and with most tracks clocking in between the two and three minute mark (until the latter end of the record), this is a fast-paced and furious trip through the best components this genre has to offer.
Overall, it is fair to say that this is the bands most diverse and expressive album to date, incorporating different elements from all corners of the extreme metal landscape, in order to craft an album that is as relevant as anything else out there. Anybody who likes extremity in their music would be best advised to check this out. But good luck just playing it once.
8/10