Abysmal Torment are a death metal band hailing from Malta, a southern island on the tip of the Mediterranean. Their style of death metal isn't the most technical or heavy, however they do a fantastic job of mixing up tempos and displaying upfront, supercharged riffs that are composed in an original and resfreshing way. The drumming is fast and crushing, although the production could be much better on the hollow snare sound and overbearing kick drum. Even though there are some lackluster moments,
Incised Wound Suicide more then delivers its fair share of ball-kicking madness.
The interesting thing about
Incised... is that it's quite the easy pill to swallow: in a genre chock full of albums that are difficult to get through and that are at times tedious, Abysmal Torment do a great job of mixing things up and keeping the album refreshing as it goes along its unrelenting pace. Fast, almost blast-beat like rhythms swirl into double bass pounding, soul crushing moments that would make Satan bow his head. You never know what turn the album is going to make and the result is a listener who is at the edge of his/her seat during the thrill ride from hell. There are really no long parts of repetitiveness or unoriginality; in fact,
Incised... is a very difficult album to remember the whole way through because of its constant changing parts and riffs. That's not to say these are the greatest songwriters, however the band creates songs with memorable parts as well as sections that one could only marvel at the brutality.
Abysmal Torment needs to be heard by the vast majority of metal fans out there. Nothing really sticks out in terms of musicianship or songwriting, however you won't find a much more consistent and original release than this in the genre. Fast-paced playing and a full onslaught of aggression mark a cohesive death metal release worth acclaim and the attention of any headbanger out there searching for evil. The train to hell has just opened its doors.
