ABHORRENT CASTIGATION: “ON THE SHORES OF HELL”

(Here’s Vonlughlio’s review and recommendation of a new EP, released in August, by the German extreme metal band Abhorrent Castigation.)

Some releases has come out of nowhere and hit us like a ton of bricks in the face (in a very good way), and such was the case for Germany’s Abhorrent Castigation and their new self-released EP On the Shores of Hell.

This band was founded back in 2012 and in the same year released their demo Enthralled by Abysmal Delusion, which took the scene by force and showcased the prodigious musical talent of this project. The cover of Cerebral Effusion’s “Into Morbid Obesity” on that demo was just godly from start to finish.  Two years afterward they released their debut album Throne of Existential Abandonment, which included as session drummer the mighty Lille Gruber (Defeated Sanity) and Anton Zhikharev as session bassist (also an amazing musician). Along with Torso (guitars) and Al (vocals), they created one of my favorite BDM debut albums ever.

With time that album has gotten better each time I’ve listened to it, and for me it’s a classic in its own right, mostly BDM but with tech-death in some of the sections, perfectly amalgamated and with a natural production that allows the vocals and music to complement each other beautifully.

Despite this great debut, the project went into hibernation (to say the least) and I thought they were done, just like many other great underground bands who for one reason or another have created a majestic release and then disappeared.

But flash-forward to 2020 and out of nowhere the band via their FB page announced the self-release of this new EP, and we were excited for the news.  The three-song effort is just punishing from start to finish, with vocals that are simply a great representation of what Al Barose can do, and along with Thorso’s riffs they make a great combination.  I should mention that the drums are programmed and I would have loved the real thing, but they are done with taste and do not diminish in any way the final product.

Overall, this EP is a strong indication of what the band sounds like now, and I am liking it very much. Just happy they are creating music again (that is the most important thing), but I hope that with the love received by this release they will receive more attention from labels and feel the support they need to keep on making more music for us fans.  If you are a fan of BDM take a listen to this new effort — it should definitely not be missed.

BANDCAMP:
https://abhorrentcastigationoffical.bandcamp.com/album/on-the-shores-of-hell-ep-2020

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/AbhorrentCastigation