#Abhorration 🇳🇴 – After Winter Comes War
Band: Abhorration
Title: After Winter Comes War
Label: Invictus Productions
Release Date: 26 November 2021
Country: Norway
Format Reviewed: High-quality digital recording
Are you ready for some Norwegian death/black metal? I sure am. Norway has long been an area of the world that is quintessential for the music that first shaped many a metalhead’s taste buds for authentic black metal sound. You have to appreciate their place in the beginnings of the movement of black metal and the bands that continue that great tradition, build on it, and create their own signature sound. I’ve lots of respect for this part of the world’s creative and purely focused point of view on aggressive, meaningful, raging, slamming kick-ass metal.
Having said that, this is not a discussion on Norway’s metal scene, no, this is about an up and coming, first demo/EP from Abhorration, entitled “After Winter Comes War”. They only formed as a band in 2020, but looking at their past work in several other bands, this is not a new thing for them to play this music. Instead, this is a new collaboration of four band members, who are intent on bringing their expression of death/black metal to the ears of many who will appreciate the metal traditions of where they are from, to the newer direction that they are forming their sound into.
Abhorration is Andreas, (also of Mabuse, Resonaut, Sadhak and Black Magic), on bass, Oyvind (also of Pulsar, Purple Hill Witch, and Black Viper) on drums, Magnus (also of Hecatomb and Mabuse) as vocals/guitar, and Arild (also of Nekromantheon and Obliteration) as lead guitar.
This is a complete first time to hear them, and I am looking forward to telling you about it.
The first track is, “After Winter Comes War”, whoa, aggressive, slamming guitar riffs immediately, to the dissonant rhythm being played out in dueling guitars and drums. Magnus lays it down with his vocal, which is a spoken, scratchy, yet guttural expression. Damn, tempo changes and the riffs take on a longer stretched out sound. I appreciated the change of tempo showing the variations.
The second track, “Ten Trenches of Malebolge”, has strong, heavy-hitting guitar tremolos, and the track continues on in a solid, display of craftsmanship and creativity of guitars and drums. Magnus carries the vocals to more of the deeper guttural ranges with screams to match up to the already great instrumentation laid down in this song.
The third one, “Desecrate The Exploits of God”, carries that more raw edged sound, black metal, and guitar tremolos that are racing and raging.
The fourth and final one, “The Great Storm of Putrefaction”, damn this band really knows how to make the guitars and drums speak. I’m loving the riffs in this, very much a display of metal guitars. All of this track is slamming.
In fact, that’s what I can say the most about this EP/demo. It slams, and the vocal engages and, I was very much taken with this band. For those who love the Norwegian influence of black metal, and the approach that is heard regarding death metal. Abhorration is one and both, and the sound they are producing is solid. I give a 7.5 out of 10 Metal Marie
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7.5/10: Victory is Possible!
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