Today we’re reviewing the 4th studio album from Tampa death metal assemblage The Absence, entitled “A Gift For The Obsessed.
I’ll be honest that, before receiving this promo, I was not familiar with The Absence, and was surprised to see their substantive back catalogue. There’s just so much good music coming out these days, despire their best efforts even the most passionate metal fan is going to miss quality bands. So it was for me and The Absence.
The album opens with the title track, “A Gift For The Obsessed”. A ‘clunky’ start - in a good way - with the tempo and stylistic changes catching this listener off-guard. Maybe not so much obsessed as schizophrenic: you could hear one 10 second except and think you’re getting straightforward power metal, while another excerpt sounds like brutal death metal. I really enjoy the discord sown in this song!
The track “The Forging” hits the listener initally with a welcome banshee scream. The main melody riff on this song is very well-crafted - this song would fit well on an Arch Enemy album. It gets really slow and ‘deathy’ – as in the classic death metal band Death – both crunchy and melodic with a superb lead break construct.
The song “Misery Trophies” is a highlight on this album. Killer guitar harmonies are on full display, and if you love axe duos working together to combine their sounds these guys are definitely able to pull off the feat.
“Septic Testament” – released a couple of years ago as a single as fresh material from the latest incarnation of the band’s line-up – could be from a Testament album. I really like the chord progressions in this one and the way the guitars sing the melody beneath the growls.
Without going through every track, I can say that The Absence provide a great variety of sounds amid the songs on this album. There’s no filler tracks, and you’ll have no problem listening straight through. While I have some favorite songs, the band gives consistent effort and every track has something positive and unique.
The guitar sound on this album is very accessible. Guitars are high in the mix – very power-metally production-wise – even though one would not mistake this for a power metal album. And you can actually hear the bass track as a distinct instrument – not always a given in the extreme metal genres. I found Jamie Stewart’s vocals to be powerful and passionate, if at times I did yearn for a touch more variety in tone. This is what I would call solid melodic death metal with definite influence from the classic Gothenburg melodeath bands, although The Absence certainly doesn’t limit themselves to that subgenre. Fans of thrash, classic death metal, and even power metal will find much to like here.
I do have a slight concern with this album. While for some listeners the variety of sounds can be refreshing – and I generally share that sentiment – it is also fair to question whether that will be percieved as artistic vision or the lack of a more specific vision. Which makes me wonder for The Absence: you’ve written a metal album I think almost every metal fan would like (except those who require some clean singing), but I’m not sure many will love. And maybe that’s not a bad thing… you could definitely do worse, and I certainly recommend “A Gift For The Obsessed” to any music fan who enjoys melodic death metal tinged with thrash, and power.
A Gift For The Obsessed is released by the M-Theory Audio. You can purchase the album through the M-Theory audio store as well as the usual outlets – itunes, Amazon, bandcamp.com, etc. or find out more details on the band’s facebook page TheAbsenceOfficial. Thanks to Austin at Secret Service Publicity for sending up this promo!