Pulverised Records, Transparent Green Vinyl with Black Marble, limited to 200 copies
Cult Swedish maestros WOMBBATH return both with album number 7 Beyond The Abyss and Pulverised Records ten years after first working together.
Back in 2015, when it was announced that a recently reformed WOMBBATH had signed to Pulverised Records and would soon release their first album twenty-two years, fans werent sure what to expect. After all, after their cult 1993 debut on Thrash Records, the band last sign of life until then was the ill-fated death nroll inspired and ill-received Lavatory EP and only main songwriter and guitarist Håkan Stuvermark remained from the original line-up. Little did they know that the aforementioned reunion album Downfall Rising was to be such a roller-coaster. With then SYN:DROM/SKINEATER and future MASSACRE Jonny Pattersson in their ranks on vocals, WOMBBATH 2.0 proved to be a meaner, faster and far more menacing entity. Fast forward a decade: Four more extra full-length later and armed with a recently revamped line-up, the Swedes (plus one Brit, mind you) are back on Pulverised Records with what Stuvemark himself simply describes as the first album since Downfall Rising weve been welded together this good musically. Its just there!
After a digital EP in profit of the UNHCR (The Weight Of Reality) in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, work began in the spring of 2022, a little over six months after the mammoth that was the sixteen tracks, 72 minutes that was their last album to date Agma had been released. I had a bunch of songs written and so did Jonny, and Thomas (van Wachenfeldt, who joined on guitar in 2018) was about to. But our then drummer Jon Rudin decision to leave the band after one last show at the Symbolic Open Air Festival in Czech Republic forced us to change our plans. Its only once we found his replacement, former DEAD SHAPE FIGURE Antti Silventoinen, that we resumed our course.
After Agma onslaught, its back to a more reasonable length as Beyond The Abyss includes ten tracks, former AMON AMARTH and close comrade Anders Biazzi once again helping them out with the final sequencing. Four songs were written by Håkan and three by Jonny and Thomas each. Three studios were used, mainly Jonnys own Studio Unbound (vocals, drums, mixing and mastering) but also Thomas Bowstead studios and Stuvemarks Necrotic Audio Productions, with now four out five members living in Sweden. The sound and vibe on this album followed from Agma yet it turned out more evil and angrier, although I reckon this wasnt exactly planned. Often when creating the output depends on where you are in life at the moment We all knew how good this album would be but I dont think any of us actually understood that until we heard the final mix with everything on it. It was a cowabunga moment! Every time I listen to it, it puts a smile on my face and I have butterflies in my belly. Death metal happiness!
Although both he and Pettersson may be the busiest men in Scandinavian metal with a dozen projects/bands each (CONSUMPTION, HEADS FOR THE DEAD, REEK, ROTPIT etc.), for the guitar player theres definitively only one WOMBBATH. I would say the foundations were laid with Downfall Rising and weve been building upon it ever since. My main inspirations remain CARCASS, ENTOMBED, DISMEMBER and EDGE OF SANITY but theres always nice additions being made, like harmonies, odd notes, violin etc. In a way, each album is an extension from the previous one and Beyond The Abyss is no exception but as Ive said already, its the most aggressive and bad-ass album weve ever done! Besides contributing guitars, von Wachenfeldt once again peppers few of the songs with his violin, a big plus according to Pettersson. The symphonic element started off on Agma. Since Thomas is one of the foremost violin players in the folk music scene, he was able to bring those elements alive, as we didn’t want it to sound like another keyboard driven metal band.
Yet the most surprising element will probably the presence of ROTPIT and LEFT HAND SOLUTION drummer Erik Barthold, guesting here on the track Malevolent on Saxophone and even Stuvermark wasnt exactly ready for it at first. Its one of Jonny songs and it was his idea and vision. Ive never been a huge fan of the instrument yet it turned out great, the one part where the sax comes in is one of my favorites on the album actually. For Pettersson, its just the proof that theyre well aware of what their roots are, yet without forgetting were not living in 1993 anymore: with this album, we wanted to push the progressive elements first displayed on Agma, but at the same time make the album our most old school since the early days of WOMBBATH. Where Agma was fairly clean, Beyond The Abyss is dark, filthy and, in a way, more organic. With one foot in the early days of death metal and one foot in the future, Beyond The Abyss is the sound of us bringing our legacy forward.
Tracks:
Intro
Words Unspoken
A Symphony Of Dread
Discord Of Doom
Beyond The Abyss
Malevolent
Faces Of Tragedy
Deep Hunger
The Damned And The Slain
Consumed By Fire
| Item weight: | 0,32 kg |
Manufacturer:
Name: War Anthem Records / Cudgel Vertrieb
Address: Schwanseestraße 20, 99423 Weimar, Germany
E-Mail: webshop@cudgel.de
