Abscess — Dawn Of Inhumanity( 2025 reissue)
Dawn Of Inhumanity was the 6th, and to date, final studio album from this Oakland, California, Death metal band. After the more creative/ moody genre mixing ‘n’ matching of some of their earlier work, this album largely focuses on a more straightforward blend of death & doom metal. Here from Peaceville is a CD reissue of the album, which adds an extra thirteen bonus tracks- featuring assorted 7”, demos, and split release tracks.
The CD comes presented in a clear jewel case- this features a sixteen-page booklet. On its outside, we get the album's fold-out artwork of bloody/eyeball-bound surreal landscape. And inside, we have lyrics, more crude/ bloody artwork, credits, and details of the bonus tracks.
Abscess was formed in the year 1994 by Autopsy members Chris Reifert and Danny Coralles, and in 2010, they disbanded. During their existence, they released five studio albums: Seminal Vampires and Maggot Men (1996), Tormented (2001), Through the Cracks of Death (2002), Damned and Mummified (2004), Horrorhammer (2007), and Dawn of Inhumanity (2010).
Dawn Of Inhumanity was originally released on the 15th of March 2010 on Peaceville. With a line-up of Clint Bower-Guitars, Vocals, Danny Coralles-Guitars, Joe Allen-Bass, and Chris Reifert-Drums, Vocals.
The original album features ten tracks, with a runtime of fifty-two minutes and twenty-five seconds. Unlike some of the band's previous releases, the sound here is a more formal blend of death and doom, with little of the more punky/ rock edges appearing, and sadly, this does make a lot of the material sound a little more standard/ run of the mill, though that said, there are some decent, effective moments on display.
In the first half of the album, we go from the chugging/ galloping doom-punk verse, and baying chant-along chorus of “Torn From Tomorrow”. Onto “The Rotting Land” with shifts between spirally taut prime evil riff craft, and slowly slugging ‘n’ bell tolling doom craft- topped with layers of reverberant vocal growl, hiss, and sear.
In the second half, we move from the speeding death metal Hardcore punk of “What Have We Done To Ourselves”. Onto “Divine Architect Of Disaster” which shifts back & forth between moody doom death ploughs, and more speeding old school death/ Thrash metal. The original album finishes off on the more atmospheric side of things with “Black Winds Of Oblivion” which shifts between bounding doom meets chiming guitar runs, mid-range chuggs ‘n’ moodily wailing guitar soloing, and gloom rock meets doom tolling’s wrapped in growled vocalising. In finishing, Dawn Of Inhumanity is just ok album, though it does feel somewhat underwhelming- as it lacks the scope, flair, and crude memorability of some of the band's best work.
The second half of the CD is made up of assorted 7”, demos, and split release tracks. And there are some great moments here- like the urgent hardcore punk/ death crossbred of “Nausea Without End”. We have the brutalist buzzing & baying of “Volcanic Psychosis”. Or there is the straight hardcore punk attack of “Another Private Hell”.
As an album, Dawn Of Inhumanity will largely appeal to the more death/ doom purists, though the bonus tracks do show the band's more punky/ manic side.