If noisy in-your-face thrash/death is your thing, then it should practically be a given that the third full-length from duo Johansson & Speckmann, Edge Of The Abyss, will be up your street.
There’s a good amount of drive and momentum to the piece, which is fantastic to hear, and there’s some great solos to boot. In particular, Turn It Around is testament to the band’s skill and the drive the song has as it gets underway is fantastic – there’s a relentless energy to it and the wall of sound projected by the guitars is mighty, to say the least. Meanwhile, the solo at the end of the song has a great technical edge to it and is definitely one of the standout parts of the song.
However, there is one element of the band’s sound that can be viewed as more of an acquired taste, and that’s the vocals. They admittedly do take a little time to warm to, because when you first hear them they sound somewhat off and can be a little difficult to listen to – but on the other hand, this could be entirely intentional, as thrash and death metal is not meant to sound ‘nice’; it’s meant to make you feel a little uneasy and the vocals do give the duo a unique identity.
As a whole, a good listen. It may not appeal to many people outside of their genre, but for what it is, it’s a finely-constructed album and one that certainly garners more than a fleeting glance.
7/10
