OSSUARY: “ABHORRENT WORSHIP”

(This is Wil Cifer‘s review of a debut album by the Wisconsin death metal band Ossuary, which is out now on vinyl via Me Saco Un Ojo Records, and on CD and tape via Darkness Shall Rise.)

Embarking upon the path of death metal, it seems that a band is confronted with the choice, much like a video game, where they must choose a class, think Dungeons & Dragons in this regard. For this metaphor, we’ll use Mage (Morbid Angel), Fighter (Entombed), Barbarian (Cannibal Corpse), and Necromancer (Incantation).

This particular band, Ossuary, featuring members of Jex Thoth, has chosen to play as a Necromancer, with a darker sound, more atmospheric, with a mood as depressive as doom, and a great deal of sonic depth.

The first song of this album is effective at sucking you into the universe created here. On the second song, you begin to hear a more angular pulse and the nuance of songwriting. The ghastly approach to the snarl of the vocals is effective, though it is buried further back in the mix on the second song. Ossuary are very purposeful in their execution, rather than hitting you with a barbaric blur of double bass. To some, it might seem more like death doom.

“Forsaken Offerings” finds a great deal of sound coming from just three people. The oppressive chug is surrounded by dense layers of guitar with depressive melodies grinding through the throb. When they do debut a blast beat here, it works because they have given you a more downtrodden tempo to contrast with.

Another strength of this album is the crusty guitar tone, which contributes to the organic darkness. It’s not a feedback-dripping suit of armor that fighters wear, nor is it the processed, effects-thick spell cast by mages. It harkens back to ’80s metal, just without the reverb that makes those albums feel a little dated at times. They have reached a balance in the mix that is perfect for what they are trying to accomplish here.

It is difficult not to bang your head to “Instinctual Prostration” as it slowly builds to a subtle thrashing speed. The guitar solo in “The Undrownable Howl of Evil” offers an ambient breakdown, rather than being a pointless shred fest. A powerful riff drives “Barren Lamentations”, giving fans of more cut-and-dry death metal something more familiar to hold onto.

This album was constructed with a great deal of thought, and their troubled hearts bleed through with sincerity, which gives the emotional weight of this album a more authentic feel than bands just dialing in a sound and going through the motions. This is what gives this album the edge and makes it one of the year’s best death metal albums so far; it certainly makes me more of a believer with its darkness than what some of the genre’s more recognizable names have offered.

If you are looking for a death metal album that crawls the crypts with less ritualistic pageantry and lashes out from depression turned inward, while maintaining its center of power, then this album is for you. It’s also for you if you like loud, angry metal with violently wretched vocals that you can just leave playing on a rainy afternoon.

https://www.mesacounojo.com/
https://mesacounojo.bandcamp.com/album/abhorrent-worship
https://darknessshallrise.de/
https://ossuary-dsr.bandcamp.com/album/abhorrent-worship
https://www.instagram.com/ossuary.death