Assumption - Absconditus (2018)
Though they've been releasing material
since 2012, this year marks the first full LP to come from the
Italian duo of Assumption, and with the three tracks contained in
Absconditus, the band shows what they've been building in that time away from the public's ears.
Slow, heavy, and deliberate,
“Liberation” opens the album to strains of guitar and tidal bass,
drums providing an elephantine pulse. When the vocals arrive,
they're in the form of a deep growl, delivered on that fine edge of
recognizability where you can follow along if you want to focus, or
just take them in on the emotive level as snarled aggression. The
escalation is managed quite well through the rest of the song, and
its completion comes with a transition into cold but gentle wind
instruments (or at least keyboard emulations of such) as “Resurgence”
begins.
Before too long, that intro section of
the song gives way to harder tones, translating the form of the first
track into faster speeds and hookier riffs. Again, it flows so well
that it's almost a shock to hear the guitar and bass draw to a close.
And as “Beholder of the Asteroid Oceans Part I & II” climbs
into gear, the band's fondness for growing from an atmospheric start
is once again demonstrated, this time with layered drones and
slow-rippling synths. The move from there to metal action comes with
a vengeance, as the duo turns out their hardest song of the LP, with
spacy drifting peeking back up in the latter half. All together,
it's a pretty damn impressive first album, and well worth the wait
for fans of the group's previous two EPs.
~ Gabriel
For Fans Of; Bell Witch, Disenchanter,
Heavydeath, Jupiterian, early Opeth
~
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