Abysmal Grief – Strange Rites of Evil

[schema type=”review” name=”Abysmal Grief – Strange Rites of Evil ” description=”Label: Horror Records” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”2016-01-25″ ]

Abysmal Grief is an Italian doom/occult metal band. Formed by the guitarist Regen Graves in 1995, the band has been delivering horror doom metal with influences from esoteric elements and magic.  2015 has marked the 20^th year anniversary with the release of “Strange Rites of Evil”, which is the 4^th full-length record. The original drummer Lord of Fog has also reunited with the band in this record. The album has been released as LP on December 2015 and as MC on January 2016.

The album’s concepts are about death and it’s worth mentioning that it was inspired by the Catholic religion and its fearful superstitions. In this sense, the album’s atmosphere is quite dark and eerie; the sound generally is the combination of the eerie grotesque melodies and the heavy riffs. There’s something quite ‘evil’ about this record but this component is not in the ‘straightforward/heavy’ approach of the album itself but the tension is built more in the organ and the eerie vocals, which, in my opinion, are the two highlights of the album’s sound. I especially loved the vocals;  as heavy and doom-y as it can get but it doesn’t bore the listener as well!

Generally, we can say that “necromantic doom” fits to the band’s sound quite well. However, I also picked some 70s & heavy and of course doom metal influences here and there. The sound reminded me of Ghost’s sound a lot even! But surely, “Strange Rites of Evil” is more eerie and maybe more ‘evil’… There are also many surprises; the band has covered Bedemon’s “Child of Darkness” with their unique sound and a great guitar solo! Other than that, the album gets more interesting in the second half as we get to see the real character of the band. The organ solo in the beginning of the last song captivated me for instance and I also found the sound more and more doom-y towards the end.

It’s hard to pick a favorite in general; at first listen, all the songs might sound the same but they all have a different character. It just takes time to ‘digest’ the whole atmosphere! I can definitely recommend this record to the lovers of doom metal but also anyone who likes a bit of an ‘evil’ in metal records!

Line-up:
Regen Graves – guitars, synths
Labes C. Necrothytus – vocals, keyboards
Lord Alastair – bass
Lord of Fog – drums

Tracklist: 01. Nomen Omen 02. Strange Rites of Evil 03. Cemetery 04. Child of Darkness 05. Radix Malorum 06. Dressed in Black Cloaks

Links:
Abysmal Grief Official