Abysmal Lord let out the beast on their third full-length album, Bestiary Of Immortal Hunger.

New Orleans has a metal scene that both destroys and innovates. Fitting right in, Abysmal Lord has tracked loud and offensive metal since their first demo back in 2013. Their previous two long-players, Disciples of the Inferno (2015) and Exaltation of the Infernal Cabal (2019), are surrounded by a sea of EPs, with a live record and a split in there for good measure. Their place in the metal scene is secure and their expression is unmuted, never more so than on the new album.

After a creepy ninety second intro, the sinister proceedings get fully going with the barbaric “Satanic Return.” There is a steadying rhythm that the musical violence rides upon during the assault and the vocals, too, offer a kind of reassuring linearity. Caustic other elements bristle and shriek and threaten. “Glowing Baphomet” is an uneasy meeting of speed and sloth, each taking bites out of the other as the song progresses. A noisy lead guitar break rattles membranes and deadens your autonomic responses. “Medo da Morte (yrasor)” is an instruction leading into the feature, “Bestiary of Immortal Hunger.” The title track is nearly groovy in its opening bars, but never fear – chaos does indeed follow. There is a battering blackness that surrounds you, and the guitar becomes a beast that spits burning sulfur.

The album is a pestilence in declaration and retort; a savoring of the wretched and profane. Enjoy particularly the impatience of “Carcass of the Living God” and the vile indifference of “Towering Leviathan” where the music has its own agenda and cares nothing at all for the listener. “Ultra Expulser” is a forbidden curiosity and nearly an epic with its four-minute running time. The final words are in “Deny the Paradise.” Odd and compelling chanting give way to guttural barks and croaks, leading to a local downward spiral and plotting a course toward earsplitting guitar nastiness. It is a delight. Recommended.

Bestiary Of Immortal Hunger is out on Friday, December 30^th through Hells Headbangers Records on digital, CD, and cassette, with vinyl to follow early next year. Start the new year on the right hoof by clicking the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://abysmal-lord.bandcamp.com/album/bestiary-of-immortal-hunger

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/people/Abysmal-Lord/100053215632295/

Hells Headbangers Records, http://hellsheadbangers.com/

© Wayne Edwards