Album Review by Bradley Christensen ABHORRENT DECIMATION – The Pardoner Record Label: Prosthetic Release Date: July 28 2017
The idea of “most anticipated albums” is a bit of a foreign idea to me, because I don’t really think about albums like that. I mean, when an album is announced, and I’m excited for it to come out, that’s one thing, but people are talking about albums that aren’t even announced yet, and they’re already excited about them. I don’t get that, because it’s like, I want to know when it’s actually coming out. If I have a set release date, that’s totally different than just being excited for an album that’s not even confirmed to be a thing yet. I had a friend that I used to be on some Facebook page with, most likely when he was apart of a page that I had created years ago, and he was asking for the other admins and I to create most anticipated lists, but I couldn’t give him anything, because there wasn’t anything I was anticipating. This was years ago, though, but I was kind of insulted, because he essentially made up a list for me. My point is, regardless, is that I’m not one to get hyped over albums that aren’t confirmed to exist. When an album has a release date, album artwork, and tracklisting, that’s when I get excited, and when it turns into one my most anticipated. That leads me into the album that I wanted to talk about today – ABHORRENT DECIMATION’s newest LP, The Pardoner. Before I get into my thoughts on this LP, a bit of backstory first is in order. I came across this band a couple of years ago, but I didn’t actually start listening to them until earlier this year. I ordered a shirt of theirs from the vocalist of The Black Dahlia Murder, as he had some old band merch up for sale. I’d always wanted to get into that band, so I picked that up, as well as their debut LP, 2015’s Miasmic Mutation.
If you remember my thoughts on that album, I thought it was great. It was a fantastic slice of death metal that was brutal and technical with its execution. Sure, it wasn’t anything too unique, but that’s the thing with a lot of metal albums. I can give them a pass if they’re just awesome, and they do what they do well, which is what that album did, so I was very excited for the follow-up. Miasmic Mutation was only their debut album, too, so they can only go up from here, right? When I noticed that The Pardoner was up for pre-order, I had to get it, because that suddenly became one of my most anticipated albums of the year. Much to my surprise, though, I got the album a few days early. That’s why I’m writing this review now (even though it won’t go up for a few days to a week, so the album’s already been out for a bit when I post this), because I’ve already had the album. As excited as I was about this LP, I’m not the kind of music fan that has too high of expectations, either. I try to be as open-minded and honest as possible, and I’m being completely honest when I say that this LP is a great follow-up to an album that I might have come across only just this year, but it was a damn great album, either way. With that said, though, I don’t think this LP is better than Miasmic Mutation, but I like it just as much. I said something very similar when I talked about Unleash The Archers’ Apex, released last month, because as much as I loved that album, I didn’t think it was better than 2015’s Time Stands Still. That’s because there were both problems and improvements with the new LP, and because of that, they kind of canceled each other out. Like I said, that’s how I feel here, but at the end of the day, The Pardoner is a really great death metal album that’s worth your attention, whether you’ve listened to the debut LP or not.
Before I talk about its issues, and there isn’t many, let’s talk about what I like, shall we? Let’s talk about its improvements, because that’s always important. This LP improves on one major thing – it sounds. While I enjoyed the balance between brutal death metal and tech-death on Miasmic Mutation, the album was pretty repetitive, as well as rather generic, but it was done well for what it was. This LP takes their brand of death metal and kicks it up a notch, because there’s an ambient, piano-driven, and ominous sound to it that creeps up a lot through this LP. There are a lot of ambient piano riffs throughout this LP, and it’s clear to me, anyway, that the band is trying to create this foreboding, dark, and creepy atmosphere. Regardless if it’s intentional or not, it works, nonetheless, because this LP does have a heightened sense of darkness. I’ve always liked hearing pianos in extreme metal like that, because it’s essentially the calm before the storm, whether it’s an introduction to the entire album, or just an introduction / outro to the songs themselves. The Pardoner manages to have me on the edge of my seat in the respect with how a lot of songs end with these piano riffs that admittedly drag a bit (the closing track is nine minutes long, and about two-thirds of it is just this long, droning piano riff), but at the same time, the atmosphere is heightened. I’m excited for them to get brutal again, you know? It works every time, despite how its sound is rather one note, essentially have the same setup throughout a lot of tracks. This LP is around 50 minutes, too, and yeah, that is another issue I have. At the same time, though, they make their sound work. Despite being one note, it’s still interesting, but if you’re into it, I can see it being very repetitive and boring. It doesn’t help that the album is a bit longer than the debut, but it’s not by a whole lot, just enough that it can be a bit exhausting.
That’s the main issue I have with The Pardoner – its sound is too long and repetitive. For me, personally, the sound works, and I enjoy it, both because it’s something different, versus just being more of the same (that’s why I wasn’t too into the new Silverstein album, despite how I still like that album), and it’s done well. Their sound is still done really well, and everything I like on the debut is still there. Nothing in that regard has changed at all, and if anything, everyone has gotten better, but this LP’s length can be a bit much, especially with how a lot of songs have the same structure to them. Like I said, I enjoy the piano sound they have throughout this album, and I like how a lot of songs either start or end with a creepy piano riff that leads into the next song, but you don’t know when it’ll happen, so when the death metal kicks in, it takes you by surprise a bit. That’s why I enjoy hearing pianos, as well as more atmospheric instrumentation, in extreme metal, because the dichotomy is so different. At the same time, however, this LP does get exhausting. I mentioned that closing track, and yeah, it’s about nine minutes, just a bit over, but most of it is just this droning piano riff that gets really old after the first couple of minutes. They could have really cut that, and it would have made the album slightly shorter, but that’s a couple minutes that can make the album tighter in its presentation and overall length. I mentioned in the beginning of the review that the problems and improvements essentially counteract each other, and I still feel that way, too. The overall sound is different, as well as unique, and it’s done really well, but at the same time, it’s exhausting and repetitive, so it all depends on how well the sound works for you on a personal level. I can see fans of the debut not being as into this project, because of its different sound, but I can see other fans being into this more, because it is something more unique, so pick your poison, because both albums are great.
