ALBUM REVIEW: Abysmal Grief – Taetra Philisophia

Italian doom/black metal ghouls Abysmal Grief are back with their seventh album. Out on December 25th via Avantgarde Music.

Choirs begin our experience with a sombre and unsettling atmosphere that soon gives way to crushing guitars, fuzzy and doomed as you would expect. The powerful riffs and cinematic orchestrations instantly invoke the Italian horror spirit that has been a huge part of the music and film from the country for decades. Powerful drums punctuate the ominous instrumentals as the smoke fills the air and the drapes are pulled back… Abysmal Grief are one of those bands which are blessed with a truly unique vocalist, whose presence instantly sends chills down my spine and raises hairs on my neck. Incantations of terror and morbidity perfectly flow atop the funereal and ritualistic music to grandiose effect. Few bands manage to be as theatrical and sinister without feeling cartoonish, but Abysmal Grief sit comfortably among their most respected countrymen such as Bulldozer, Mortuary Drape and most comparably; Death SS. Indeed these opening pieces will either have you signed up as acolyte of necromantic doom or shivering in the crypt with tear-filled eyes.

Each piece conjures spectres forth from the eeriest crypts of doom and black metal, harnessing their dark powers in a way that is unmistakably Abysmal Grief. The primitive nature of this music taps into that very thing that makes us all tick; fear. Following a hypnotising rhythm of ritualistic unease, the charnel moods of the record are intoxicating and cleverly embellished when they need to be without ever feeling garish or overdone. Now while some might think of keyboards or organs as being a stain on the metal genre, here is a rare example of their use being properly executed to complement riffs that remember to rock hard with a truly evil presence lurking in every note. The clanky bass lines rattle like chains dragging on the floor of a tomb while the cutting guitar sounds creaks like the coffins lid. These elements are carried by unbroken drums and all sit gorgeously enshrouded by those enchanting keyboards. All of this feels like a magnificent foundation to the unearthly vocal delivery which never fails to hold my attention.

It would be redundant to say there is not the hugest diversity in the sound here, most of Abysmal Grief’s work follows a pretty consistent formula. Yet it is one I have still not grown remotely tired of hearing. Both repeated listens of their earlier works and hearing this new tome fill me with equal excitement and thrills. I mean if you tire of great riffs, strong drumming and mystical vocals; this probably isn’t the best website for you to read. A glistening black gem in the cobwebbed crypts of the underground, this record manages to maintain that haunting and malevolent atmosphere throughout. On a side note from the album itself, having seen Abysmal Grief in July 2024 (photo below) at Metal Magic festival in Denmark; I can testify that their music is perhaps even greater live than on record. The stage show and performance delivered on every promise that the LPs make. To be a convincing live act doing such music is essential and really confirmed my admiration for Abysmal Grief. Until its end you will be captured in the spellbinding essence of doomed and macabre metal magick and you will love every moment of it…

Another spectacle of occult necromantic doom metal magnificence from Abysmal Grief. By this point in the band’s career I knew what I would be getting and was glad to receive this rite of evil might. Simply put, this will either be for you or it won’t. Those who appreciate the Italian metal and horror arts will certainly be bewitched by its spell casting of total morbid majesty. Perhaps one could accuse it of being predictable but no more so than any other band who have found their identity and stand by it with conviction. This doesn’t feel like a cheap rehash of its predecessors but another worthy invocation of evil metal brilliance. Abysmal Grief seldom disappoints and “Taetra Philisophia” was a triumph on all fronts.