Abaton/We Are Certainly Not Made Of Flesh/DrownWithin Records/Unquiet Records/Martire/2015 CD Review

 Abaton  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  post  metal,  doom  and  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "We  Are  Certainly Not  Made  Of  Flesh"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Drown  Within  Records,  Unquiet Records,  and  Martire.

  A  very  dark  and  melodic  musical  sound  starts  off  the  album  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  sludge/post  metal  direction  along  with  some high  pitched  screams  that  are  influenced  by  black  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  melody  in  the  solos  and  leads.

  At  times  the  music  gets  very  atmospheric  and  the  slower  riffs  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  doom  metal  elements  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  and  influences  of  hardcore  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  some  songs  also  mix  in  a  small  amount  of  death  metal  growls  and  spoken  word parts  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  there  are  also  a  few  tracks  that are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  alos one  song  that  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  melodic  vocals.

  Abaton  takers  the  black  metal,  doom  and  sludge  mixture  of  previous  recordings  and  also  mixes  in  more  melody,  post metal  and  hardcore  influences  to  expand their  musical  style  out  a  bit  more,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  yet  powerful  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Abaton  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal,  sludge,  doom  and  post  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ananta"  "Nadi"  and  "Echo".  8  out  of  10.

https://drownwithinrecords.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-certainly-not-made-of-flesh  

Abaton Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Abaton born in 2009 as a mate's band that spent time in rehearsal-room to create something together. After finding a good balance in 2011, was released the first full length album "Hecate". In 2015, after having closed friendship with Viscera///, we decided to record this collaboration, two tracks with mixed line up.


2.So far you have released a full length and a split ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?


Whereas the band is constantly in evolution, it's hard to characterize a specific musical style. The constant aim is to engage the listeners in landscapes that bring them to the emotions we had feel in the writings time.

Differences between Diade(ms) and Hecate is obvious, becouse they were composed and recorded by different people and inspirations.


3.The band has been around since 2009 but so far has only put out 2 releases, can you tell us a little bit more the gap in between recordings?


We had to change line up and we had internal path which made the process of writing new material more difficult. Besides we try to make for us every detail perfect of each song and concept. So the writing process take a long time from the draft to the complete project.


4.On the ep you had team up with Viscera////, how would you compare their own musical style to yours?


Our musical genres, although slightly similar, they definitely have different sounds and rhythms. Indeed, what bonded us it was not the likeness of musical style but the real interpersonal connections. For these reasons we decided to make a real collaboration, not a simple split album.


5.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?


The lyrics are music's extensions. it describe the landscape created from the music and vice versa. Hecate's album theme was the evolution through the suffering, Diade(ms) and our currently theme has been talking about the concept of the evolution through the knowledge, transcending the suffering.


6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Abaton'?


The fundamental value that binds Abaton is a shared passion by the members of the band, what we are able to create together and all the experiences that we live together. Abaton is a greek word, which literally means inaccessible, more detail, however, is a sacred place, inside a sacred place. A room of a subterranean temple, accessible only by those who have taken a spiritual journey.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?


The last gig was at Santa Maria Summer Fest, in Beja - Portugal (we take this opportunity also to thank all the staff) it was really amazing.

To name others concerts, various dates of tours, Pilsen in Czech Republic in 2014, Macigni Fest in Milan in 2014.

Our stage performance tries to be a visual as well as emotional involvement, through the use of specific lights.


8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?


Sure, we are planning a European tour (Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Czech Rep) at the end of October, as well as other Italian dates for the promotion of Diade(ms), where we will be on the stage with Viscera///.


9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black, sludge and doom metal?


For now, they have always been positive, in some cases more than others.

We hope to continue to be like that. People appreciate us especially on the stage and it's something that makes us very proud.


10.When can we expect another full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?


We will release the next full leght album "We are certainly not made of flesh" in October (in which there will be a guest vocal by Sean Worrel from Nero di Marte, who we thank heartfully) and, for the future, we're already at work for the concept of the next full, we hope to do collaborations with other bands, such as this one.

It 'hard to predict which style we will hit for the next compositions, the new album is much atmospheric and liquid, compared to Hecate, which was very visceral and scratchy.


11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?


Everyone of us listen to different genres, from hardcore to punk, from doom to sludge. It's difficult to name bands that particularly affect the way we compose music.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?


We like every forms of art, paintings, tattoos, nature ... and having fun together and meet new crazy people.


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?


We would thanks those who will read this interview, Viscera///, all the labels involved in releasing Diade(ms), Maicol from Soundscape Studio, all the amazing bands that we have known and created great friendship and all the people those who follow us.

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Abaton/Viscera///-Diade(ms)/Sentinent Ruin Laboratories/2015 Split EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a split  ep  between  Italy's  Abaton  and  Viscera///  which  was  released  by  Sentinent  Ruin  Laboratories   and   with  Abaton  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  doom  teaming  up  with  Viscera///  a  sludge/post  metal  band.

  A  very  heavy  sludge  metal  sound  starts  off  their  side  of  the  split  along  with  some  melodies  and  screaming  vocals  that  also  use  growls  and  a  few  seconds  alter  elements  of  crust  and  black  metal  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  music  also  speeds  up  at  times  and  brings  in  a  small  amount  pf  blast  beats  while  the  slower  sections  are  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  melodies  bring  in  a  lot  of  post  metal  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  second  track  sticks  to  mostly  a slow  and  melodic  style  of  doom/sludge  metal  and  also  brings  in  a  brief use  of  guitar  leads  and  also  speeds  up  towards  the  end.

  Abaton  and  Viscera///  team  up together  and  mix  there  different styles  together  to  create  a  very  dark  and  heavy  ep  that  mixes  black,  death  metal,  doom,  sludge,  and  post  metal  together  to  create  an  original  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Abaton  and  Viscera/// and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  post  metal,  sludge and  doom,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Special  needs".  8  out  of  10.

 https://drownwithinrecords.bandcamp.com/album/diade-ms