Review by Daniel for Abramelin - Transgression From Acheron (1994)

Melbourne death metallers are another fairly underground Aussie artist that had a lasting influence on me & my own band Neuropath throughout the early-to-mid 1990's. They began life as a four-piece under the Acheron moniker back in 1988 & released a couple of demos & a 7" single before changing their name to Abramelin just in time for the release of their suitably titled 1994 "Transgression From Acheron" E.P., a move that was driven by the existence of a more well-known Pittsburgh death metal outfit that had also selected Acheron as their band name. The Acheron releases were all pretty decent which led me to explore the Abramelin CD as soon as it hit the stores & it very quickly became a release that would receive regular plays around the Neuropath rehearsal room & social gatherings. In fact, Neuropath shared a fair few traits with Abramelin & it's a little hard to know whether that was coincidence or not now as there were just so many influences floating around at the time. It's fair to say that I've been really looking forward to revisiting "Transgression From Acheron" for a good while now though as it's firmly rooted in the style of metal that I tend to gravitate to most i.e. the most deathly of the death metal genre.

"Transgression From Acheron" is a short 23-minute release that includes just the four songs, two of which appeared on Acheron's 1992 demo tape in "Human Abbatoir" & "Relish the Blood". It was recorded at Double Tea Studios in May of 1994 with bass player Justin Wornes behind the mixing desk. Justin had been involved with a whole slew of underground metal demos & E.P.'s by that stage so he had little bit of experience behind him with his resume including the likes of Corpse Molestation (aka Bestial Warlust), diSEMBOWELMENT, Vauxdvihl & Necrotomy. The result of his efforts isn't too bad here with all of the instruments being easily decipherable. I will say that the guitar tone isn't as good as I would hope for though as it could do with a little more brightness while the snare drum does sound a little too close to an upside-down bucket but these aren't major complaints as I don't think anyone would shun this E.P. solely due to concerns with the production. I do think that some punters might have picked it up based purely on the intimidating band logo & attractive cover artwork though as I find the dark & imposing 17th century Salvator Rosa painting (entitled "Scene of the Witches") to be a real selling point.

Abramelin's five-piece sound is about as death metal as death metal comes. Tim Aldridge (diSEMBOWELMENT) & Mark Schilby's (Necrotomy) rhythm guitars are chunky & down-tuned, Euan Heriot's (Blood Duster/Fracture) blast-beats are fast & intense & vocalist Simon Dower's death growls are unintelligible & monstrous with comparisons to Cannibal Corpse's Chris Barnes & Suffocation's Frank Mullen being pretty easy to draw. The first two songs "Human Abattoir" & "Humble Abode" (my personal favourite) are clearly the more brutal of the four on offer & also represent the clear highlights of the E.P. as Abramelin are at their best when they drop their shackles & opt for pure savagery. Outside of those sections, the band tend to produce some fairly simple & uncluttered death metal, occasionally with a noticeable groove but rarely leaving the confines of the graveyard from which they were spawned from. There are some attempts to create atmosphere here & there, generally with a good level of success, although the lead guitar work isn't exactly dazzling & can come across as a bit basic to an old shredder like myself. The E.P. oozes of zombified death metal authenticity though & even verges on my beloved brutal death metal subgenre at times, although (outside of the ultra-gutteral vocals) those links tend to fade away through the back half of the tracklisting.

There's not a lot wrong with "Transgression From Acheron" to be honest. I guess I was just expecting to like it a bit more than I have based on my recollections from the mid-90's. I saw Abramelin play live a couple of times & they were significant events for me & the rest of Neuropath while I will always admire their dedication to a purest take on the genre. It's just that there are generally always parts of their songs that lack a little in the way of ambition & are more generic in their make-up than I'd like. I'll certainly always love Dower's vocal delivery & could listen to the fast & beautifully executed, grind-driven blast-beat sections till the cows come home but I can't deny that the E.P. feels a little less essential than the Misery & Psychrist releases I've been revisiting over the last couple of months. Regardless, I can't see it disappointing too many of our The Horde clan members so it's gotta be doing a lot right.

For fans of Invocation (AUS), Misery & Psychrist.