Adam Burke‘s fascinating symbolic cover art for Abscession’s new album Rot of Ages stuck in the heads of most people who saw it (certainly including me) before any of the music had been revealed. It turns out that the songs get stuck in the head too, like needles in a pin cushion.

Abscession’s music punches damned hard and grinds bones, deploying in expert fashion many of the traditional weapons of old-school Swedish death metal to create a potent visceral impact. The music is undeniably ferocious, but what makes it stand out from a lot of similarly inclined revivalist bands is the incorporation of evocative melodies, which really make the songs songs, each with its own character. And they really do irresistibly get stuck in the head.

“Dead Man’s Hate“, the song we’re premiering today in advance of the November 19 album release by Transcending Obscurity Records is a great example of these qualities. Continue reading »

On this 24th day of December, 2016, the thoughts of some people are turning to contemplations of peace on earth and good will to men (and women). Abscession are more intent on reducing the planet to a smoldering cinder. Their objectives are made manifest in the title of their new single, “The Final Furnace“, and even more undeniably in the music itself.

The song, which is being released in digital form today, is the first track from a forthcoming album that bears the working title Rot of Ages, and we present it to you in the form of a lyric video. It comes emblazoned with cover art painted by Mattias Frisk, frontman of Vanhelgd and an artist responsible for artwork on behalf of such other fine bands as Ghost, Miasmal, and Entrapment. Continue reading »