ALBUM REVIEW: Ossuary – Abhorrent Worship

After some supreme demo and EP releases, Ossuary are prepared to unveil their debut album of vengeful death metal excellence. Out via Darkness Shall Rise Productions and Me Saco Un Ojo Records on May 23rd.

Ambience begins the album with an ominous atmosphere, building tension and curiosity. Guitars soon join with a reverberate and eerie riff met by pounding, abyssal drums. The visceral and earthy instrumental soundscape of Ossuary is completed by a really crushing bass tone, showing the trio can muster a massive sound between them. Vocally, the snarling, scraping and malicious lines spew forth naturally and sit betwixt the layers of tarry instruments perfectly. The way in which the riffs contort gives an evil and sepulchral feeling to the record as grooves meander between tremolo picking to ensure that while things seem to remain mostly mid-tempo, they keep their impact. This said, the band is not afraid of some blast-beat assaults and more intense, dissonant riffing. Dynamics-wise; there is plenty to get you hooked and keep you at the table. Let us hope the superb beginnings of this record are a sign of what is to come as we venture further into “Abhorrent Worship”…

While keeping true to the archaic and savage ideals of what death metal should be, Ossuary still have plenty of their own personality and give us some really gritty, interesting and unique songs with a hypnotic effect. The further into the heart of this beast we go, the more fetid and wicked things become. From stomping hooks to the more ethereal doomy moments into full-bore skull-splitting mania; it is easy to see why this band has become so beloved among underground dwellers. As a fan of their entire body of work to this point, which has slowly grown across demos and EPs, allowing them to truly find themselves, this debut full length feels extremely natural. I speak not only in terms of its development but for us fans who have followed the bands entire works, this feels like a culmination of all that we have heard before while stepping forward. I wholeheartedly believe Ossuary have landed on their own sound in its purest form yet on this record and it is a real gruesome cut of morbidity.

Holding such a consistent brutality while putting huge focus on the atmosphere of the record is no easy feat, yet Ossuary manage it seamlessly, keeping everything rife with riffs and memorable. The warped, unearthly performances of the entire band have this inhuman feel to them while the tonality is earthy and organic. Mulching the listener, they churn through six songs of resplendently repugnant death metal that is utterly brilliant in every facet. Their clever use of jarring little segues before a real headbanging riff is something I love about this Ossuary album. It’s not overly accessible, yet still feels like a proper metal record. It’s not littered with lazy hardcore chugging, the bane of “old school death metal”, relying more on that charnel and intense playing that the late 80s and early 90s saw so much variety from. I am thoroughly impressed at how clever and intricate the songwriting is while they never stray from the grisly and graven sense of dread that those first synth notes alluded to. Right to the end, they keep it vicious and rotten, just how a record like this is supposed to be.

A savage and bewildering cut of dark death metal. Gloomy, rotten and utterly ruthless. Every moment of “Abhorrent Worship” is intense, utilising the full capacity of this trio’s songwriting to achieve a nasty and unwieldy opus of death metal. An incredibly strong debut album that, ten years into the bands career, follows the EPs / demos triumphantly. A real delight of decaying debauchery.