ABYSMAL LORD: Bestiary Of Immortal Hunger
Release year: 2022
Label: Hell’s Headbangers
Imagine, if you will, an alternate reality where seminal Finnish black metal act Beherit never changed their style from their early releases encapsuled on the debut album The Oath Of Black Blood. A world where Nocturno Holocausto and cohorts never evolved into the more ambitious and complex (by comparison, at least!) style of Drawing Down The Moon. Imagine that, and you end up at the doorstep of US duo Abysmal Lord.
In other words, not much has changed since we last crossed path with the US act (here). The band has been slimmed down from a trio to a duo, but other than that, the beast remains recognizable. And short on originality.
In a nutshell, everything we said in our review of the previous album applies. Abysmal Lord take their cues from early Beherit, emulating the sound and style with admirable accuracy. Perhaps soundwise, this downtuned mass of chaos is more akin to Down Under…, which Beherit put out as The Lord Diabolus, but that’s splitting hairs. This sounds like early Beherit, and that’s that.
So if primitive, barbaric, bestial metal of death with roughly hewn, straightforward riffs, demonically slavering gruff vocals, and for the most part speedy but not very technical drums are your cup of virgin’s blood – then this is for you. If not – well, then this is not for you.
And, ultimately, that’s pretty much it. If you’ve heard bestial black metal and early Beherit, you know what to expect.
Qualitywise, Bestiary Of Immortal Hunger is on the same level as previous albums. The loss of original drummer Barbaric Slayer Of The Angelic Choirs does not make itself felt on the album. Black Lord Of Fire And Nocturnal Damnation, who also handles guitar and vocals, does a competent job behind the drum kit.
One might wonder if it isn’t a bit redundant for a band with such narrow stylistic breadth as Abysmal Lord releasing multiple albums with little discernible evolution, in a narrow genre with quite little stylistic room for movement. And you might be right in doing so. I don’t know. Me? I still haven’t got my fill of this filthy stuff, and will buy Abymsal Lord’s fourth album, whenever such a thing materializes.
Only Death Is Real 