Artist......: An Abstract Illusion
Album.......: Woe
Year........: 2022
Genre.......: Death Metal
Label.......: Willowtip Records
Cat.No......:
Source......: WEB (24bit)
Encoder.....: libFLAC
Quality.....: 1600kbps avg. / 44.1kHz / 2 channels
Playtime....: 00:59:50 (732.81MB)
R.date......: 2023-01-27
S.date......: 2022-09-09
Website.....: http://open.qobuz.com/album/pp9utrlvza4ya
Disc 1 / 1
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01. The Behemoth that Lies Asleep 3:22
02. Slaves 7:23
03. Tear Down this Holy Mountain 11:33
04. Prosperity 7:41
05. Blomsterkrans 5:51
06. In the Heavens Above, You Will Become a Monster 14:28
07. This Torment Has No End, Only New Beginnings 9:32
OK. LetÆs take a minute to step back and breathe in that gorgeous Adam
Burke artwork. What do its dark hues conjure for you? Hidden depths and
barely concealed beauty? Perhaps. A sense of unease and something slightly
unsettling, coupled with almost unbearable amount of sorrow? Certainly. A
feeling that, for all the abstract, organic chaos, itÆs also somehow
carefully calculated and brilliantly composed? No? It does for me. Oh well,
all artÆs subjective, isnÆt it? But, personally, I think all this and more
is what Swedish trio An Abstract Illusion were going for when they chose,
or commissioned, this piece for Woe. The bandÆs second album, Woe is the
follow-up to 2016Æs Illuminate the Path. A slab of progressive death metal
with hints of black metal bleeding in from the edges, Illuminate the Path
was a very good record. Does it bode ill, however, that itÆs taken An
Abstract Illusion over six years to pen its successor?
As the title might suggest, Woe is a record packed with bleak soundscapes
and drenched in misery. Sprawled across almost an hour of beautiful
depression, An Abstract IllusionÆs latest work feels like a single flowing
composition, rather than the seven tracks itÆs presented as. Heavier and
channeling a more blackened and atmospheric edge into the progressive death
metal of its predecessor, there is a swirling sense of barely controlled
chaos that lies just beneath the surface of Woe. The interweaving of
progressive death and atmospheric black metal is done with a skill that
recalls IapetusÆ The Body Cosmic and Wills Dissolve but with the added
razor edge of early Ne Obliviscaris (ôSlavesö). In just a few of the
techier moments on the record (back end of ôTear Down this Holy Mountainö),
thereÆs also something of the confident swagger that defined last yearÆs
First Fragment.1 In its more progressive moments, however, as Karl
WesterlundÆs guitar soars into the heavens, there is an Opeth-like quality
to An Abstract Illusion.
Throughout Woe, whoever the drummer isùno credit is given in the promo
materials or anywhere else that I can findùinstills a metronomically
precise canter to the record, both propelling it forward and adding a rich
layer of technicality that allows Westerlund, who handles both guitar and
bass, to focus on delivering rich, textured riffs. This is not to suggest
the guitar work is simplistic but the percussion means Westerlund doesnÆt
need out-and-out technicality. Instead, his riffs give An Abstract Illusion
a melodicism that belies the heaviness on show on Woe. On potential song oÆ
the year, ôIn the Heavens Above, You Will Become a Monster,ö the shifts
between atmospheric death, blackened and batshit crazy progressive death
metal that Devin Townsend would be proud of come thick and fast but also
seamlessly.
Former drummer, Christian Bergl÷nn, is now billed solely as vocalist and is
joined on mic duties by keyboardist Robert Stenvall. The harsh vocals that
dominate and, I assume are, Bergl÷nn, are a gravel-edged, rasping roar torn
straight out of an aching chest. These work incredibly well, adding still
more depth to An Abstract IllusionÆs sound. Peppered across the record,
however, are a few sections of cleans. These are of wildly varying quality,
with those on epic closer ôThis Torment has no End, Only New Beginnings,ö
for example, sounding like Morningrise-era Mikael ┼kerfeldt and working
well. At the other end of the spectrum, is what happens early on in
ôSlavesö and right near the start of the slightly djenty ôProsperity,ö
which are both out of key and out of time. I donÆt know which singer to
point the finger at for this but they are, thankfully, rare blips in an
otherwise near faultless record. StenvallÆs keyboards are excellent, both
in tracks likes ôIn the Heavens Above àö and on percussion-free interlude
ôBlomsterkransö (and perhaps he is also responsible for the unexpected but
most welcome clarinet, that appears in ôTear Down this Holy Mountainö).
Sporting excellent production and fantastic pacing, Woe is a great album.
The only things holding back An Abstract Illusion are a few of the clean
vocals and a very slight feeling of bloat. If I were trying to put my
finger on exactly where this lies, I would point to ôProsperity,ö which is
decent but of lesser quality than the rest of Woe, and perhaps the last few
minutes of closer ôThis Torment has no End àö These are very minor gripes,
however. Woe is, for the most part, an album of incredible consistency and
great vision, that is both well written and beautifully executed.
Everything you hope for and expect from that cover art is here in spades.