Abschwörzunge — Whorl

Whorl is a very full sounding EP, with many layers working together to weave a dark, rich tapestry of fast and enigmatic death metal. Working with four tracks and twenty nine minutes, Abschwörzunge structure their EP with long form bookends and two four minute songs in between, giving a sort of mirror image/palindrome effect very often seen in space. Whorl isn't an album about space, despite all my references to it, but rather the apathy of the universe, our insignificance, and the emptiness of it all. Getting to the root of Lovecraftian ethos, Abschwörzunge present bleakness through dissonant, layered, pounding death, utilizing every instrument to its fullest, including dark, rough vocals. Fans of Gorguts' Colored Sands  would do well by checking out this EP as there are a number of similarities in tone and structure, even down to crisscrossing guitars and layers going in many directions. This dizzying effect helps Abschwörzunge to get their point across as well as send the listener further down the spiral, questioning existence and their place in the universe. The overall EP has a very grim feel, but the music isn't tuned into dirgy areas, instead pushing the darkness through well organized chaos and allowing the listener to choose their own path through it all. Although the drums are generally very fast and the main factor pulling these pieces along, the guitars are the highlight and expand the EP into numerous directions, expanding the tracks like the universe itself. Linking everything together is the rough, deep vocal track, the brutal narrator on this cosmic tour. Whether Whorl is meant to be a noun or a verb, the structure of the album and almost dizzying guitars definitely convey the message well, and Abschwörzunge cram a lot of music into an abbreviated runtime.

 

Abschwörzunge's first release, Whorl, is a fantastic piece of extreme metal that showcases not only the band's skill with their instruments, but also arrangement and attention to detail. In addition, they're furthering the boundaries of death, expanding it like the bleak, uncaring universe that is the basis for their EP. Whether or not the band decides to reveal themselves in the future, it's no matter as long as their music remains as engaging as this debut EP. However, not identifying themselves sticks to Whorl's core tenet of human insignificance and is quite a clever approach to their band identity (er, non-identity)