Let’s be honest, shall we? When one thinks of death metal, the state of Kentucky doesn’t automatically spring to mind. Well, Abominant is out to change that with its indie release Ungodly.

Abominant plays a mix of early 90’s death metal with black metal tendencies. Lot’s of guitar harmonies, blast beats, old-school metal rhythms and a mixture of low, guttural and black metal vocals. The recording and mix on this Ungodly is quite good. It’s definitely as good as I’ve heard on a death metal record. The artwork and packaging are totally pro as well. The songs on Ungodly are competantly, darkly melodic, and heavy! The guitars of Timmie Ball and Buck Weidman are a combination of thick, crunchy rhythms, clear clean tones, and good lead tones. Their use of dual guitar work on both leads and rhythms is top notch. The Rhythm harmonies on ‘Treasures Of Darkness’ are a testament to this. Some of the lead breaks come off a little rushed and juvenile, but overall they do a stand up job. Craig Netto is your typical death metal drummer, and that is in no way a derogatory statement.

Death metal has a long history of having some of the tightest, most intense drummers in metal and Netto is another example of this. As much as drummers stand out in death metal, bassists often don’t. They are the unnoticed sealant between the rhythm guitars and the drums. Mike May does a great job of holding these songs together, even if he is only holding his ground. Vocalist Mike Barnes has a versatile throat. He goes from low-end brutality to mid-range growling up into high-end shrieks effortlessly. His tone in all three is full and rich, never thin. This also gives him a added sense of dynamics. The songs all maintain a good balance between death metal brutality, black metal darkness and moody melody. Comparisons to Anata would not be off base. If they keep putting out product as high quality as Ungodly, Abominant are sure to make a nice, bloody gash in the underground.

[Visit the band's website]

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