Abhomine — Proselyte Parasite Plague
Six songs of sonic suffering, Proselyte Parasite Plague offers up some underground metal - crispy and low-fi enough to match the scratchy, black and white cover art. Wonderfully straight-forward, Abhomine doesn't waste time on intros, samples, noodling, or any frills. This is just classic, old school death metal - brash and in your face. Scratchy vocals with decipherable lyrics allow the listener insight into the band and album that many modern albums don't allow. There's an unapproachability with the heavily distorted vocals that the earlier death albums didn't have. Is it always worth hearing what the lyrics detail? No, but it's more fun to sing along to. How many can still recite Altars of Madness from back to front? Can the same be said for The Necrotic Manifesto? There is a nostalgic charm to Proselyte Parasite Plague, but the album is much more than that. It thrashes like mad, the arrangements are great, and it flows very well. The duo showed up to play and this record evidence to that. In addition, it's only six short songs, so you can really hammer out a few listens in a row without getting burnt. This is a fun, almost bit-sized approach and fits Abhomine's style of death very well.
The sophomore effort from Abhomine, Proselyte Parasite Plague is a quick, gnarly little feast for the ears. No frills to be had (but none needed), their newest shows that grimy, underground death metal never went away. Not a throwback for throwback's sake, Abhomine know what old school is, lived it, and show that it's timeless.