Abominated – Traumatic Putrefaction – LP

Formed in Warsaw in 2018, Abominated have been promising big things ever since they released a four track demo in early 2021. The metal community have been waiting for their debut album with baited breath, so there’s an air of excitement and expectation hanging over Traumatic Putrefaction. The wait has been worthwhile because the band have produced a nine-track affair that takes all that’s great about death metal, rolls it into one perfect package, and shoves it right into your face.

Nothing can quite match the veracity of a death metal band in full flight. It’s a sound to which nothing in the world can compare, and when played right, drags you along like fresh kill and leaves a bloody trail in its wake. That’s precisely what Abominated dish up and after a grandiose introduction get straight down to business with ‘Forbidden Pleasures Of Self-Immolation’. With a take-no-prisoners attitude they get the feathers flying and paint the walls a deep crimson, offering little in the way of redemption as the gates of Hades open wide to reveal dark and disturbing delights. This is exactly how death metal was meant to be played; it throws its weight around confidently and totally dominates the room.

Despite a love of gore and guts, sometimes death metal can be a bit goofy; those garish, brightly coloured sleeves verge on the cartoonish and give the scene an air of triviality, and nothing could be further from the truth. Well, Abominated have come to smash those ideas and such is the verve with which they play, cuts like ‘Sacrificial Defilement’ prove them deadly serious. This sensation comes primarily from their music, everything is honed into a finely pointed knife edge; they don’t use two notes when one will suffice and there’s very little in the way of extraneous frills. Yet, this brevity is its strength; each song is a short, sharp shock and drills a hole to the centre of your cranium, then pours in caustic acid.

Vocalist Greg also screams for death/doom band Martyrdoom and his singing is a real boon. Often death vocals can be gruff to the point of unintelligibility and when the subject matter is grotesque, that’s a waste, but with Greg at the helm we can hear every word and the extreme subject matter only adds to the heaviness. Yet, it would be unfair to single out any one member because the whole band lock in tightly; the twin guitar attack of JK and Marc is a major selling point, often exploding like phosphorous flares, while drummer Ordynathor is a beast (think Animal from The Muppets) and combines with bassist Marol to create a tag team who constantly thump the solar plexus.

‘Slave To Depravity’ makes for a cataclysmic closer that veers wildly between hubris and nemesis and, striking and strident, makes for the perfect mission statement. While empires may rise and fall, oceans will erode cliffs, and the Earth will be consumed by the Sun, you get the feeling that there will always be Abominated.