The death metal/punk supergroup known as Abscess certainly has plenty of pedigree; after all, drummer Chris Reifert spent time in the early incarnation of Death, and both he and guitarist Danny Coralles were in the influential gore/grind band Autopsy. Together with guitarist/vocalist Clint Bower and bass player Joe Allen, they make up Abscess, a band that takes the fury of death & grind metal and forges it with punk mayhem.
Sad to say, much of what they do here is not that successful. Though there are some evil moments, especially the slow,mammoth riffs on "Torn From Tomorrow", and some of the frenzied, often times intricate passages on "Never Sane Again", much of Dawn of Humanity sounds repetitive and thrown together. "Dead Haze" however is one of the stronger moments here, a hypnotic number that has as real Celtic Frost/Tryptikon feel to it, complete with tortured vocals, slow, plodding riffs, and tons of atmosphere. The album could have used more songs in this vein.
Though they are trying to obviously do something different here, much like how Darkthrone have adopted their 'black metal/punk' thing over the last decade, Abscess' 'death metal/punk' style is going to be an acquired taste. Musically, the album is more than competent, but the vocals are hit and miss, and some of the songs just don't have any staying power. Still, if you are in the mood for some 'death'n'roll', you might want to give this a try and see of the bands brand of extreme metal is right for you.
Track Listing
1. Goddess of Filth and Plague
2. Torn from Tomorrow
3. Never Sane Again
4. Dawn of Inhumanity
5. The Rotting Land
6. Dead Haze
7. What Have We Done to Ourselves?
8. Dark Side of a Broken Knife
9. Divine Architect of Disaster
10. Black Winds of Oblivion
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