Abbadon Incarnate
Dark Crusade
6.9
Irish Grindcore? You bet your lucky charms, and pretty decent at that. With a classic grindcore sound reminiscent of fellow UK grinders Extreme Noise Terror, Napalm Death, Defecation, and Righteous Pigs, Dublin’s Abaddon Incarnate are an old school grind band with a punk/crust base and a modern polish. Dark Crusade is this outfit’s third album, and while a fairly generic yet satisfying grindcore release, it should get them a little more than the cult status they have endured for the last few years.
The Emerald Isle isn’t normally known for caustic, abrasive extremity, so it comes as somewhat of a surprise that Abaddon Incarnate are so proficient yet unheard on larger metal circles. Dark Crusade is a slight lateral step for the band as there is a purer guitar tone and a slight death metal feel to some of the tracks rather than utter chaos, but still the album defines an old school grindcore feel with 16 short tracks all blisteringly fast and brutally to the point. Forsaking the usual tongue in cheek/gore/splatter/serial killer themes, the dual scream/growl approach is used to deliver more succinct and relevant themes over the acidic riffs. Societal/political issues akin to their classic peers fill the album: “Global Bastardization”, “Philosophy of the Elite”, "Entrusted With Disgust”; thankfully replace the overly used and tired themes of zombie porn.
Cruelly efficient with their riffs and well placed grooves, Abaddon Incarnate are just well versed in the requirements for solid, face ripping grindcore, as it was meant to be. Rather than sloppy gurgling and muddy production, the sharp production is surprisingly polished allowing the shredding to be fully appreciated and absorbed like tacks nailed into your head. With the slick Miesko Talarczyk (Nasum) production you know exactly what kind of sound you are getting, and the love/hate attitude towards his Soundlab produced albums should sway you when considering this album. Personally, I love his razor sharp, glistening guitar tones and clean sound, it gives grindcore a certain guise and level of accessibility than makes it listenable to me.
Standout tracks are hard to pinpoint amid the 30 minute ass reaming, but their slightly death metal (“1756”, “Philosophy of the Elite”, “Eternal Solitude Forbidden”, “Hour of the Dog”) injections in some of the tracks give them an amount of professional restraint that sets them apart from the pack.
Hardly a groundbreaker in skill of musical terms, but that doesn’t stop it from being a pretty ripping little album from a gobsmacking source. A pretty solid album for grindcore fans, especially those yearning for the classic grindcore sound of yore that erupted from the UK many years ago.
