ABOMINATION - Abomination CD

The fast and furious debut album from Chicago’s Abomination is an enjoyably frenetic piece of death metal history, bridging the gap seamlessly between the angry thrash of the late 80s, the even angrier grind of the turn of the 90s, and the brutal death metal that continued to be defined throughout the decade. While it opts to adopt traits from all three groups rather than bring anything particularly new to the table, Abomination’s self-titled release still sounds great today even if it is largely rooted in a specific 1990 sound, proving that metal still had a violent edge even before production values were kicked up a few notches and the crushing force of a live death metal performance could be transmitted to your own living room, cellar or car. 

‘Abomination’ was released on the burgeoning Nuclear Blast label, which would soon give rise to some of the most prominent extreme Scandinavian bands from the 90s up to the present day, though this is a full-blooded U.S.A. release with plenty of local references to the President and U.S. capitalist society (can you guess which side they’re on? This is nothing if not by-the-numbers aggro), and with enough obvious tips of the hat to genre forebears Slayer and Master as well as the numerous death and grind acts springing up all over the place. Based more in the sound of grind than death metal as it’s know today, the focus is less on achieving a deafening raucous through blasted drums, down-tuned guitars and roared vocals, and more a violent off-shoot of hardcore punk.

Paul Speckmann’s vocals are yelled with a genuine fury without becoming incomprehensible death grunts, while his bass can be heard distinctly and satisfyingly both over and between the speedy guitars, which are themselves primarily concerned with riffing along at a breakneck pace, often throwing up some interesting riff changes and squealed, brainless solos in the style of Slayer’s Kerry King. Aaron Nickeas’ drums are the most fore-grounded and impressive instrument, smothering the full extent of the kit in every song rather than restricting himself to maintaining a steady rhythm or relying solely on the double bass pedals that many lesser bands seem to think constitutes a heavy sound. The slightly lo-fi production quality means that the whole thing is still firmly rooted in the 80s, sounding more akin to thrash than the louder death metal being produced by Death and Morbid Angel, but really this only adds to its historical charm. Nuclear Blast’s more recent catalogue is full of death metal cacophonies, but this is a highly enjoyable album that will be enjoyed by Death and Anthrax fans alike.

Jewelcase CD

Hammerheart 2025