If you think about it (maybe not too hard), listening to death metal is to consider the duality of man. On one hand, the genre's ghastly lyrics and abrasive aesthetic style relate a sense of the misery that mankind inflicts on itself and will continue to do so until total extinction. Simultaneously it is a morbid affirmation of life in all of its desperate transcience like no other, attesting to the fragile triumph of our humble existence through the ancient medium of riffs.
Abhorrence were a band with riffs just about as ancient as death metal riffs come, after forming in 1989 they released two demos the following year to ultimately limited recognition before disbanding until a solid 2018 comeback EP (which also flew under the radar). Despite this, the band's influence can be traced throughout what is even today still a very important scene in death metal canon.
The filth and gloom associated with the Finnish sound materialises almost immediately here in first song proper "Pestilential Mists", which introduces the cutting guitar tone - as if the band had heard that patented buzzsaw sound from their neighbouring Swedes, thought it was pretty cool, and resolved to make it even more crude and demented. Withering tremolo riffs and icy treble reminiscent of the works of Depravity feature prominently in "Disintegration of Flesh". The hefty low end and traces of punk sensibilities in "Holy Laws of Pain" could easily have it mistaken for a Convulse track. "Caught in a Vortex" opens with examples of the cold leads and lumbering tempos that foreshadow the notable Finnish contribution to the darker side of doom metal. Even 38 second intro track "The Cult" indicates a typically Finnish inclination towards immersive qualities with its prickly synths, bell tolls and demonic snarls. The vocal performance throughout
Abhorrence is remarkably deep and monstrous for 1990, no doubt something taken note of by the likes of Demilich as they pushed the envelope (and diaphragm) of vocal performance to extremes rarely matched even today.
Luckily for us future-dwelling plebs, Abhorrence's influential early material can be heard in its entirety on the
Completely Vulgar compilation which includes both this self-titled release and the marginally inferior
Vulgar Necrolaty. If you need to think about mankind's cursed existence in such callow terms as good and evil, or you just want some ***in raw brain crushing death metal, listen to Abhorrence.
