Abyssal Ascendent "Chronicles of the Doomed Worlds, Pt. 2: Deacons of Abhorrence" Review

 

    Throwback Thursday is early this week, everyone! Celebrate with some gnarly tunes laid down before the almighty Yog-Sothoth!

    Indeed, I do feel transported to some other dimension where early-2000s death metal never went away or never pupated into its modern form (eagerly awaiting new Horrendous release, throw me a bone). The new release from eastern French Lovecraft acolytes Abyssal Ascendent truly does feel like a time capsule of sorts. Not that we haven't had an abundance of Lovecraftian metal in the interim; H.P. and metal go together like Harold and Maude. Abyssal Ascendent simply feel like they bury their feet in the soil of a very specific time and very specific style of death metal that I don't find myself encountering very much. The early-2000s scene was what I was brought into the world of death metal by, with names like Krisiun, Hate Eternal, and Bloodbath on every heathen tongue. Like most nostalgia-worthy eras, it felt like a simpler time - at least, to my youthful knowledge. But here, in the chaos of 2020, I find myself pining for that time, and Abyssal Ascendent are the reckoners of such nostalgia in me.

    Abyssal Ascendent were formed in 2012 and have previously only released one album, the quite obvious if you've looked at the article title Chronicles of the Doomed Worlds, Pt. 1, back in 2015. Far from prolific, the band have stewed upon a sequel for the past half decade and just now released from their unearthly maw this gift from the Great Old Ones. Their style can best be described as I have stated above: a recapturing of the sounds of the early-2000s scene. mid-scooped guitar riffery, plodding forge-hammer-like rhythms, and the lowest guttural vocal utterances that can possibly be called forth from a human chest. A sure recipe for success and mosh pit carnage. Not much has really changed between the two releases, only that Abyssal Ascendent have poised themselves to stand toe-to-toe with an old giant in the death metal world.

    That is to say, in conclusion of my nostalgia-ridden first paragraph, that Abyssal Ascendent sound uncannily like pre-Annihilation Nile.

    

    What a stupid, reductive thing to say, Dalton! Bad critic, stop passing off simple comparisons as genuine critique! 

    Hear me out though. I don't mean to say that as a means of putting Abyssal Ascendent down. I think they put their own spin on the style well enough to justify entertaining them a listen. But I seriously put "Dissolved into the Great Hive of Shaggai's Progeny" back to back with "Defiling the Gates of Ishtar" and, besides production, they very nearly belonged on the same record. Nevermind the propensity for mouthful song titles referencing ancient gods and languages. I just wanted to point this similarity out because it helps me avoid describing Abyssal Ascendent's sound in too many redundant words. Suffice to say, they fucking crush it, and if you don't like Black Seeds of Vengeance or In Their Darkened Shrines don't talk to me.

    That said, I think "Dissolved [...]" stands out here among a few others for carrying this sonic analogy beyond simple comparison. To be sure, there are orchestral, acoustic, grandiose interludes abound like their predecessor. But Abyssal Ascendent sprinkle about a great amount of, what I dare to call, negative space that Nile almost never did. Songs like "The March of the Wind Walker" and "The Church of Free-Will" contain huge swaths of time when the music isn't swirling at a mile a second. I will owe this to the modern sensibilities Abyssal Ascendent infuse into the older stylings at their disposal to stand out. They aren't afraid whatsoever to let massive chords ring out for a measure or two at a time to get their point across, as in "Nilgh'ri Vulgt'mah Eh'yeog Uh'eog" (what?), where they layer a choir underneath it all to really drive home that 'this shit is beyond mortal comprehension' atmosphere. Here too, is a comparison I can make with Nile again, in that Abyssal Ascendent do truly feel like masters of the mythology that they adhere to. Yes, Lovecraft is abundant in death metal. At least here it feels like the theme song to the climax of At the Mountains of Madness than simply a name recognition, and just as tension is at its peak a shoggoth passes us by in the ruins of an ancient city, its guttural evocations echoing into the space between.

    Perhaps my biggest gripe with Chronicles Pt. 2 is that it builds with much the same materials that its predecessor does. Not that anyone can expect left turns at every release, but a more concerted effort to delineate it sonically would be a great service to the album as a whole. I understand it is part of, you know, a chronicle. But still, the most I can say of it in comparison with Pt. 1 is that this certainly feels more foreboding and brooding. There is more orchestration, and more willingness to layer instrumentation so as to make the whole sound more massive and maddening at times. But compositionally things aren't terribly different. Abyssal Ascendent surely play to their strengths in writing straightforward death metal. The nerd in me just wants to hear what else they can set their minds to.

    That said, I find Chronicles Pt, 2 to be quite the solid release, and nothing if not enjoyable to hear. Its greatest feat was hearkening me back to a time I had forgotten for quite a while. It brings me joy to hear one of the bands that set me on the path of metal reborn in a modern guise. I can only hope for greater things in the future for Abyssal Ascendent.

You can listen to Chronicles of the Doomed Worlds parts one and two at Abyssal Ascendent's bandcamp:

-Dalton