Abyssus – Death Revival

Abyssus

Death Revival

by Alex Barnard at 27 February 2022, 9:52 PM

ABYSSUS is a Death Metal band from Athens, Greece. “Death Revival” is the group’s second full-length album, released by Transcending Obscurity Records on January 1, 2022.

This Death Metal album is so old school that it might as well be telling you that the 80s were the best. That’s not a bad thing within the musical context of this album – though it most certainly is in general social interactions. But I digress; the influences that this album teems with are on the very early side of Death Metal, to the point where it could almost be considered Death/Thrash Metal. Hints of POSSESSED, “Scream Bloody Gore”-era DEATH and VENOM show themselves throughout the various numbers on this LP.

The POSSESSED influence is especially apparent in Konstantinos Analytis’ vocal delivery, as he is a dead ringer for Jeff Becerra. Panos Gkourmpaliotis and Chris Liakos’ riffs are particularly thrashy, exhibiting the chromatics found throughout EXHORDER’s seminal record “Slaughter in the Vatican” (“Metal Of Death”). Konstantinos Ragiadakos’ is not terribly flashy but he certainly gets the job done well enough, with his presence being felt most heavily in the middle section of “The Ten Commandments.” Something similar could be said about Jan Westermann’s drumming, as he tends to favor the quintessential thrash drum beat throughout the record, but he shows that he is quite proficient at it, to say the least.

Some of the other highlights from this track listing include “The Beast Within,” with its SLAYER-esque harmonies and overwhelming triplet feel; “The Witch,” a speedy romp that is over way too soon; and “When Wolves Are Out To Hunt,” with its surprisingly doomy intro, utterly bloodthirsty vibe, and terrifying hook (“They’re coming for you!”).

There’s nothing particularly special about this album, but it’s very good. ABYSSUS show that they are devotees to the Old-School Death Metal style, and nothing will change that. This record is a banger through and through, so if you’re looking for mind-numbing Death Metal, look no further than “Death Revival.”

Production: 9
Songwriting: 8
Memorability: 7
Musicianship: 7