We all have experienced the in-between mental states that occur as we descend into sleep and then emerge again into wakefulness, not being fully awake or asleep (the scientific terms for these similar but not identical phases are hypnagogia and hypnopompia). In those phases, it’s not uncommon to experience hallucinations, and sometimes sleep paralysis or lucid dreams. In the song we’re premiering today, “An Illusion of Sleep“, the lyrics suggest that the Canadian death metal band Abjection are exploring the unreal disturbances that can occur in these blurred transitional conditions — and the music itself manifests turmoil and insanity in frightening but electrifying ways.
“An Illusion of Sleep” is the first track to be revealed from the band’s ravaging debut EP, Malignant Deviation. It will be released by Godz ov War Productions on March 25th.
While Abjection is a new formation, its members have proven themselves already in other bands well-known in the underground. It combines the talents of vocalist Cole Benoit (Anion, Dead Again, Origami Swan), guitarist/bassist Sergey Jmourovski (The Weir, Polemos), lead guitarist Troy Horton (Sinews, Wiser Fool), and drummer Josh Bueckert (Wake, Spaewife).
As you listen to the song we’re presenting, you’ll realize how perfectly descriptive the EP’s title really is — its sound is both malignant and deviant — and it’s likely you’ll also feel the connection of the sounds to the track’s lyrical themes explained above.
There’s a maniacally writhing quality to the song’s lead riff, which whines, spasms, and slithers through a cataclysm of obliterating, rapidly morphing drum fusillades, gut-slugging bass lines, downtuned guitar droning and grinding, and voracious, rabid growls, which sound as if they were recorded in deep catacombs. The riffing remains a deranged presence, but as it rises it becomes even more feverishly unhinged in its sensations.
When the thunder assault of the rhythm section falls silent, the deep, dismal, swarming tone of the guitar persists, but then a crazed, shrieking solo jets from that dismal morass like a paranormal blaze. While that solo might be the song’s zenith of lunatic intensity, the music’s marauding energy erupts again, the drumwork continuing to drop jaws, the lead guitar emitting a kind of blurting pulse, the vocals as bestially hostile as ever.
This track is a hell of an advent for this debut EP, which includes five other songs, whose titles are suggestive of further dark and demented disturbances:
01. Of Consuming Decay
02. An Illusion of Sleep
03. The Black Stag
04. Nightmares Awoken
05. The Madness Within
06. A Darkness Unutterable
Malignant Deviation was mixed and mastered by Otso Ukkonen, and features artwork by Jessica Hudson. To repeat, Godz ov War will release the EP on March 25th (CD and digital). For more news about the release, including pre-order details, keep an eye on these locations.
GODZ OV WAR:
http://godzovwar.com/
ABJECTION:
https://www.facebook.com/abjectiondm/