AN NCS PREMIERE: ABADDON INCARNATE — “SHRINE OF FLESH”

Later this year, in furtherance of a career that now spans a quarter-century, the Irish extreme metal band Abaddon Incarnate will release their sixth album overall, and their first one since 2014’s Pessimist. Transcending Obscurity Records will handle the release, and promises that The Wretched Sermon not only delivers “a quintessential blend” of death metal and grindcore but also expands upon the band’s sound by “injecting myriad elements from thrash parts to atmospheric passages and stringing them together using staggering transitions”, thereby turning it into “a fascinating beast of an album”.

We haven’t yet heard all of what Abaddon Incarnate preach in The Wretched Sermon, but the new album track we’re premiering today — “Shrine of Flesh” — bears out at least some of the label’s promises.

There’s a wild, ferocious energy that surges through the song, from the mauling, chainsaw-toned riffing that pumps like a piston to the neck-cracking drumwork, from the dense seething and swarming guitar savagery to the caustic and thoroughly demented vocal vitriol. The song rampages like some big, hellish freight engine tearing down the rails with a madman for an engineer and no dead-man switch to stop it.

The track is loaded with jolting and jabbing grooves (the idea of pumping pistons repeatedly comes to mind), but it’s equally effective in creating visions of berserk savagery, especially when a superheated fret-melter of a solo ignites in the closing minute. In short, this one is all adrenaline, all of the time:

There’s one more song from The Wretched Sermon out in the world, and its name is “Rising of the Lights“. It’s a shorter shock to the system than today’s premiere, and on this one the freakishly unhinged soloing comes early, helping to create an explosive start to a track that’s even more crazed than today’s new song.

Fueled by blasting drums, rapidly roiling riffage, and frighteningly rabid vocals, it’s initially an experience in unadulterated savagery — but it’s not just that. True to the descriptions offered by the label, the band slow the rampaging momentum and bring in soaring and wailing melodies that give the music an eerie and haunting atmosphere, one that’s just as scary in its own way as the unchained ferocity of the song’s opening assault.

We’ll add one more linguistic preview of the album from Transcending Obscurity: “Every song here offers something different, some even climaxing into a terrific breakdown or shapeshifting into something mind-blowing. The Wretched Sermon is easily their most diverse and expressive album yet, meticulously written to flesh out every nuance, while keeping things brisk and intense”.

The album is completed by eye-popping cover art by Ken Coleman (Morbid Angel), and it comes recommended for fans of Napalm Death, Rotten Sound, Misery Index, Wormrot, Phobia, Nasum, and Balance of Terror. Keep an eye on the links below for further announcements about the release date and pre-order opportunities.

TRANSCENDING OBSCURITY:
Bandcamp – http://transcendingobscurity.bandcamp.com
US Store – http://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com
Europe Store – https://transcendingobscurity.8merch.com

ABADDON INCARNATE:
https://abaddonincarnate.bandcamp.com/
https://facebook.com/abaddonincarnate