Review Summary: Horror Punk perfection.
Abominator is one of those albums that brings up good old fashioned horror punk nostalgia while keeping the new wave heavy metal sounds of today. That being said, it is also an album of great originality, by basically revisiting a generation of music that was left behind, give or take, ten years ago. This is due mostly to the raw horror punk sound and very fitting lyrics, which as I said before, feels like listening to a Misfits album from the Michale Graves (American Psycho and Famous Monsters) era of the band. This metal shockwave is a brilliant start at the revival of a brilliant and much loved part of music history that will stay in my collection for a very very long time.
Doyle has always been at the top of my list as far as song writing about monsters and serial killers goes. He has never failed me in being able to deliver horrific imagery with heavy punk metal bliss. Which is why in this album I am proud to say that his songwriting has delivered once again. I came across lyrical themes such notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper, the disturbing yet brilliantly written subject of necrophilia, the gruesome acts of werewolves, and even a song about witch covens. All of these added together come to a satisfying conclusion that will be cherished for years to come, and ensure that I always have something to play on my Halloween playlist.
Adding on to that is the instrumental perfection that goes along with the lyrics. Every single track has a fitting musical score and mood setting that really makes them all function separately, but also as a whole. As I mentioned earlier, this is pretty much an all round Halloween inspired album. So every track without fail put me in the mood for serious jack-o-lantern carving with this as my influential guide. However this didn't start right from the beginning of the album. I know that sounds inconsistent, but that's how it is. The album kicks off with its title track. Introducing the song is a brilliantly unnerving scream from Alex Story, that instantly earned my respect for the guy as a heavy metal vocalist. This opening scream alone gave me some goosebumps because of how much intensity he threw into his vocal chords. The track proceeds to carry out with a very slow, almost doom metal instrumental and continues on for about another 45 seconds. It then picks up and shows off the old school Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein I know and love. From that point forward the album alternates between the doom metal and punk styles with brilliant pacing and progression through the end of the album. Although there were a couple of weak points. One in particular, which was the entire track titled "Mark of the Beast". This almost killed the experience for me, and being so close to the end of the album that is a major point reduction. The whole track sounds like it was written in five minutes just as a simple filler for the album. Fillers have always been a weak point in music history and this one isn't any different. Fortunately that is the only true negative side of this experience and is easily avoided by simply ignoring or skipping it. The other, much smaller weak point are at a couple points while listening, there was sudden calm down moments that throw off the heavy metal flow, but this is easily missed unless you are actually looking for it, as opposed to listening for simple entertainment.
Finally the cap on all of this is the great production in it. Sound quality puts you in the studio by giving you reasonably loud, but equalized sound from each portion of the recording. The guitars are in your face enough to enjoy them without them overpowering the other parts of the recording. I also want to give props to the sound of the drums. They are fantastically solid and deliver an insanely heavy sound when those bass pedals start going. Perfectly matched up with the bass, they are brought out even more. Plus the riffs are fantastic. Blending a harmonically heavy doom metal sound with killer hardcore and horror punk riffs to make up what can only be described as simply amazing.
Listen to this if you're a Michale Graves Misfits fan and/or if you need something to throw onto that Halloween playlist that needs some new flavor!!!!
Recommended tracks: Headhunter, Dreamingdeadgirls, Valley of Shadows, and Bloodstains
