Band: Abyzou
Album: Aeternum
Genre: Death Metal
Country: USA
Release Date: 3rd of October, 2020
Released via: Self-Released
Cover Artwork: © Tyler Flanagan
Through a recommendation of my friend Tyler, who plays in Skin Ticket and designs artwork on the side, I became aware of the American Oneman Death Metal project Abyzou, for whose current and first EP Aeternum he designed the cover. Already after a short time of listening I didn’t want to let go of the offered 5 tracks, because the sound quality and musical skills forced me to stay and will surely not let go of one or another of you so quickly. But as we all know, you can’t do much wrong with crusty US Death Metal at the moment anyway.
Even though the cover artwork already suggests that Abyzou is a merciless Death Metal roller, I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into before I listened to the EP. But after a few seconds, this assumption was confirmed and I got a devilish hurricane from the sound system. Aeternum starts straight away and rages on me with partly heavy, partly classic HM2 riffing. Lovers of metal melodies will also get their money’s worth, though. Apart from that, the songs are played a lot, but not too much, with different tempos, so that you get not only wild pounding, but also slower knife-fighting passages, which show a good balance and never steal the stage from the respective counterpart.
While the massive drumming with blastbeats and various swirl interludes is stomped deeper into the ground in an almost furious way, you can let yourself be roared at by bitterly angry growls, which can even squeeze a little fear sweat out of your pores at some points. Of course, there are also some disgusting Uuurghs, as it is proper for the genre, which round off the sound finally and give a slightly crusty touch at the same time. This fits especially to the slower parts, literally spits in your face and makes the tempo changes seem more intense.
If you keep in mind that the whole release has been recorded by just one person, you can’t get out of the amazement anyway, because without any prior information, especially on the drums, you would never suspect it, as powerful as the whole thing looks. Recording, mixing and mastering was also done by himself and can be seen as well as the music itself.
Nothing is known about a physical version of the Aeternum EP yet, but as you can hear, they are already working to bring an analogue version of this infernal inferno home to you. If you like the latest Xibalba record or various Maggot Stomp releases, Abyzou should not be missed at any price. For a debut the EP, this is really a very convincing work, which definitely makes you want more, but also offers enough content to enjoy it longer. In terms of Death Metal newcomers a real insider tip for 2020!
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