2024 Silent Pendulum Records / LP
www.silentpendulumrecords.com
aberranceband.bandcamp.com
BADASS SONG TITLE: Kiss of the Rat
BADASS TRACKS: Pretty much all of them!
ONE-WORD BADASS DESCRIPTION: Omnivorous.
Aberrance, on their third record, is playing a mix of technical death metal and perhaps 1990s Florida-style death metal laced with tasteful grooved-up riffs and thrashing hardcore, and even a touch of black metal and deathcore here and there. These gentlemen are clearly metal omnivores, and it shows on their record. The songs are extremely well-written with lots of hooks and variation, showing off the band's musicianship and writing and arrangement skills. It really is a harmony of technicality and catchy songwriting.
"Flaying the Tyrant" starts the record with an almost Suffocation-like riff, until the dual high/low vocals hit and they begin to mix it up. The grooves hit hard, alternating with blasts, punctuated with those same strong high/low vocal tradeoffs. Then comes "Fish Hook," which leans into thrash immediately, and breaks down into an absolutely brutal hardcore-style (vocals and all) interlude, and then right back into the deaththrash. If you're going to sprinkle in hardcore and other genres into death metal, this is the way to do it, goddamn it. The third track, "The Silent Enemy," does something similar, but has an almost Gothenburg/Swedish melodic death metal styled structure and riff that ties the track together, but drops in another hardcore-style interlude. The songs are consistently the perfect length and leave me wanting more. That's the mark of good writing. Short, to the point, but leaving me hungry.
They slow things down in the fourth track, "In the Throes of Neuropathy," with a tinge of black metal influence. "Son of Dirt" keeps this slow-down going, but with a Forced Entry-style thrash riff that the song is built on before they introduce a bit more black metal-influenced riffing in the faster sections, which even infects the vocals here. You see here what I mean by metal omnivores. If these guys have an influence, they utilize it. I like that a lot. People may think I'm a death metal purist, and for the most part they're correct (my favorite band is Nunslaughter, after all), but when I hear a band utilize this many influences and still turn out a cohesive effort that sounds like it was played by the same band, I'll support it. These guys are clearly creative and talented musicians and songwriters. I'll be interested to check out their back catalog and future efforts, for sure.
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