Death is June - Ossuary : "Abhorrent Worship"

This is the debut full-length from this band featuring members of Jex Thoth. Funny enough, drummer Nick Johnson also plays drums for Zola Jesus. The overall sound is dark and gritty, with some sonic depth and a very stark atmosphere to this more Incantation-like school of death metal. The second song has a more angular pulse to the verse riff than the heavier, more misanthropic feel of the opener. The ghastly approach to the snarl of the vocals is effective, though it is buried further back in the mix on the second song. I like the fact that they are purposeful in what they do and not just hitting you with a blur of double bass. To some, it might seem more like death doom. 

"Forsaken Offerings" is a lot of sound to come from jsut three people. The oppressive chug is surrounded by sonic layers of guitar with depressive melodies grinding through the throb, attacking you. This is the first song where they hit you with a blast, and it works because they have given you a more downtrodden tempo to contrast with. Another strength of this album is the crusty guitar tone, which contributes to the organic darkness; all too often, death metal bands overdo the overdrive and it creates an almost machine like feel, where the guitar here have more in common with bands from the late 80s, just with out the reverb that makes those albums feel a little dated at times.  

The chug they hit you with on "Instinctual Prostration" is hard not to headbang to. The tempo slowly builds to more of a subtle thrashing speed. The march of "the Undrownable Howl of Evil" finds the first half of the song falling more along the lines of what you expect from your typical death metal band. It eventually descends into the kind of mood that has set this album apart from that. The guitar solo offers a more ambient breakdown, rather than being a pointless shred fest. "Barren Lamentations" has a powerful riff that drives the verses, and the song moves well, but its intent is a little less focused than some of the previous songs, while still proving effective. I will give this one a 9.5, it is one of the year's best death metal albums so far, certainly makes me more of a believer with its darkness than what some of the genre's more recognizable names have offered. 

pst244