(Today M-Theory Audio releases the first new album by The Absence since 2010’s Enemy Unbound, and here we present Andy Synn’s review along with a full stream of the album.)

Let’s get one thing clear right away – while Riders of the Plague, the second album by Floridian firebrands The Absence, is a bona fide underground classic, the band’s erratic follow-up, Enemy Unbound, singularly failed to capitalise on the critical acclaim and momentum generated by its predecessor, and the subsequent array of label woes and line-up changes certainly didn’t help matters either.

Thankfully, the general consensus appears to be that the group’s long-awaited fourth album, A Gift for the Obsessed, is a more than worthy sequel to Riders…, even if I’ve have seen more than a few writers/reviewers bemoaning the fact that the band haven’t massively changed or updated their style and still sound like “an American version of Arch Enemy.”

But while this comparison isn’t necessarily invalid – their penchant for thrashy, high-octane riffs, adrenaline-pumping drums, and shamelessly infectious hooks certainly shares more than a few similarities with the works of Amott and co. from before they became a toothless parody of themselves – it’s also not necessarily a bad thing.

After all, the overall decline of the Melodeath/Melodic Death Metal scene worldwide has left behind something of a void, which The Absence seem more than happy to fill with their vintage-yet-visceral brand of melody-infused metallic mayhem. Continue reading »