Review Summary: The Absence's 4th studio album is perhaps a little by the numbers, but still worth a listen if you're a fan of the genre.
The Absence have been producing quality melodic death metal since 2005. All of their albums sound like love letters to the Nordic progenitors of the genre with a little bit of a thrash thrown in for good measure. For better or worse, this band has remained incredibly consistent over the years in terms of their musical style (Perhaps the one slight exception being their fantastic 2007 album, Riders of the Plague).
A Gift for the Obsessed is the band's 4th studio album following an 8 year hiatus. But despite the large time gap between albums, you'll find not much has changed musically. If you enjoyed their previous albums, then you will probably find something to enjoy on this one.
As with their other works, the guitars are the star of the show here. Cutting riffs, catchy leads, and entertaining solos are generously peppered across the entire album, although sadly, not to the same degree as their previous efforts. But nonetheless, it still makes for an enjoyable listen overall.
I've always had mixed opinions with regards to the vocals on their albums and that certainly hasn't changed with this one. I'd best describe the vocals as mostly generic sounding but they oddly seem to work really well with the overall sound of the band. But the vocalist does have his moments here and there, especially when he deviates a bit from his usual mid-level growls. Overall I would say the vocals enhance the listening experience but a little more range would help the cause.
As for the drums, I can't say they are a huge selling point here this time around. Which is a shame because their drummer previously showcased some very enjoyable ability on previous works. On this album, his work is competent and enjoyable, but a bit by the numbers if I'm being honest.
Meanwhile, the bass is essentially non existent unless you intentionally listen for it, as is typical with many metal bands.
All in all, A Gift for the Obsessed is a good album that's worth a listen if you're a fan of the genre. But truthfully, it does sound a bit uninspired compared to the bands previous efforts, especially their first 2 albums.
