Artist: Abscess
Label: Necropolis Records
Release Date: 1/23/01
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Title: Tormented Artist: Abscess Label: Necropolis Records Release Date: 1/23/01 |
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Abyss's Review:
Abscess seem to be a band that want to be death metal but are way too influenced by the early NWOBHM movement to come across as brutal. And as a result, Tormented strikes me as a sloppy, poorly thought out project. What few good ideas there are on this album are so well hidden that they might as well be nonexistent.
"Tormented strikes me as a sloppy, poorly thought out project." The songs drift due to a lack of any strong riff to guide them. Most of the guitar work seems like it was thrown together hastily, and almost always drifts into a punk style of rapid power chords. This is all laid over a rhythm section that’s only ambition is to keep time. The album is barely produced, and while many might consider it raw, I personally think it just sounds sloppy.
The highlight of the album is the vocal delivery, which mixes a variety of growls into the mix, and the unique way in which they are layered over the music is the only thing that piques my interest at all. In some spots the vocals don’t seem to feel the need to keep time with the song, giving them an evil and uneven feel that reminds me a little of Bethlehem, but make no mistake, this disc sounds nothing like the aforementioned band. “Rusted Blood” is probably the best example of what this band can do vocally, but the lackluster songwriting drags the whole thing down.
"Bland riffs, pointless solos, and interesting vocals do not a record make." As much as I can appreciate the more experimental parts of this record, there just doesn’t seem to be much here. Bland riffs, pointless solos, and interesting vocals do not a record make. There’s too much metal out there to invest time into this.
Death's Review:
NOTE: The following review is 100% "Autopsy" freeMany bands walk the line between death metal and hardcore. Abscess walk the line between death metal and punk. There is a big difference. A big, sloppy, filthy, disgusting, little monstrosity of a difference, actually.
Abscess are extraordinarily vile. Abscess also have absolutely no redeeming social value. Fortunately, their extremity is their strongest asset. They are so over-the-top in their approach, their delivery, their... well, their whole concept, really. They are pretty much the epitome of sick, crazy shit right now. If that's what you're going for, if that's what you're into, then...
"Abscess are extraordinarily vile. Abscess also have absolutely no redeeming social value." Musically, the theme carries over. For those of you interested in an objective description, I shall attempt one as follows: Abscess are a simple, underproduced, punk-influenced, sloppily-played-but-with-attitude death metal band with a healthy respect for the earliest days of thrash. Abscess have guitars which sound like a cross between Celtic Frost, Motorhead and Venom. Abscess even feature the occasional Tom G. Warrior style emphatic grunts.
Perhaps you're more impressed by Abscess' wild, early Slayer, "fuck-the-scale" guitar solos? Or the occasional spastic Chris Reifert drum flurry? Let's dip the whole package in multi-layered, regurgitated, slightly blackened vocal insanity, shall we? Is this your bag? Yeah? Cool. Then Abscess is your band.
"For the most part, Abscess is about simple riffs I've heard before played sloppily and poorly produced." Me? I'm looking for something totally different in my metal right now. Abscess are almost beyond true criticism with their approach -- their whole trip is to be extreme. There is music there (I like Reifert's Charlie Benante style drumming at the beginning of "Tormented," and the Seasons -era Slayer riff he's drumming to kinda also works). But for the most part, Abscess is about simple riffs I've heard before played sloppily and poorly produced. At the end of the day, that's what I take away from this. I know that's kinda the point (you could say the same things about Venom and Motorhead, although I am not a big fan of either), but what can I say?
Hel's Review:
You know I always get excited about death metal albums. As a general rule, I avoid excitement because, as a strict pessimist, I know it only leads to disappointment. Lately, I have forgotten that rule as it applies to death metal albums. I've been on such a high of excellent releases that I lost sight of that most fundamental pessimistic principle.
"Blazing guitar solos, as articulate as they are fast, spice up moments between long stretches of drawn-out moody chord-striking." There are those who would point out that it isn't mentally healthy to be pessimistic. And I would hold out Tormented and gleefully tell them that sometimes it's not. I tell you all of this so you may realize along with me, the inherent danger of undeserved harshness in this situation. I proceed, trying to keep this in check and to try to point out merits.
Yes, am I disappointed in this record. No, I'm not a long-time Autopsy fan, and I admit I have no history with that band. Sure, I must be missing some fundamental quality that makes this band awesome. I have no idea what that is, and this album strikes me as rather run-of-the-mill. Sure, there is enough quality here to make me concede that Abscess is an above average metal band on the whole, but that's not coming through very clearly for me right now, right here, today.
Blazing guitar solos, as articulate as they are fast, spice up moments between long stretches of drawn-out moody chord-striking. Playing at the moment I write this is "Madhouse at the End of the World" - by far the worst offender of this on the record. The rest of the album is generally more mid-tempo, but even the fastest-paced songs lack the ability to hold my interest.
Maybe if I hadn't gotten so accustomed to remarkably good death metal, above-average quality wouldn't sound so average. Perhaps if the rhythm section and vocals didn't sound as if they were coming from the bottom of a tin can, I would have admired them for more than just their proficiency. I can imagine that at another time, in another place, I may have felt differently. Not today.
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