Review Summary: A strong Gorguts influence plus a great ear for melody equate to a winning formula for this Brooklyn death metal act.
In a word, this album is amazing. Unafraid to show their influences but not content to merely imitate them, Black Harvest takes the dissonance and technicality of Gorguts and combine them with a wonderful ear for melody in order to create a sound that is just as content with punishing you as it is with uplifting you. Tracks like "Holy Blood" use this formula to perfection, starting out with a pummeling opening featuring deep growls and a thoroughly relentless instrumental section before opening up to a far more driving and melodic riff coupled with higher pitched vocals more akin to a shriek than a growl. What makes this album click so well is ultimately the group's compositional talent. No song shows this better than "The Beggar's Song" which brings together all the elements of Abject into one five minute display of perfection. From atmospheric guitar section layered with synthesized choirs to one of the best end riffs you'll ever hear to a well-placed piano outro "The Beggar's Song" shows a band at the peak of their creative ability. Perhaps the most striking song on the album is the closer, as it is a radical change from the sound found in the previous eight tracks. While acoustic portions are used sparingly on the album, "Your Words Are Made of Gold" utilizes acoustics coupled with clean singing as the basis of it's sound. Although the song is actually one of the stronger on the album, the complete break from the death metal stylings of the previous eight tracks does make it feel as if it shouldn't be on the album and is detrimental to the overall cohesiveness of the album.
That being said, the remarkable consistency of Abject from a quality standpoint and the band's ability to nail whatever sound they please make this a recent addition to my personal favorites and makes this album more than worth your time.
