From aggressive to atmospheric, the German outfit utilize everything from Gregorian chant to black metal elements to deliver a bold show of dynamic brutality.
This is one sick death metal album. It doesn’t quite fit totally into the old-school death metal box, despite having a strong foundation there. Anthems From The Abyss from German death metal outfit Soul Grinder is a curious and engaging work that will leave you surprised as you listen. Not short on the brutality, but heavy on imagination, Soul Grinder is subtle with their ambush, not flashy or overdone.
The album kicks off with the title track and an infectious rhythm that sucks you right into headbanging. The odd use of almost Tibetan chanting gutturals and engaging tempo changes give you a good indication that this won’t be a basic OSDM album. Vocalist Mathias Junge’s intelligible vocals are nothing short of violent.
“Insidious Resurrection” speeds things up and is begging for a circle pit. The pacing is impeccable on this album as “Soul’s Mirror” slows things down and employs a solid touch of melody, paired with destructive blast beats.
As we hit the midpoint of the album, Soul Grinder pulls out more tricks with some black metal-esque atmosphere on “I Am The Silencer”. As the album draws to a close, “Warcurse” brings back the old school vibes from the beginning, creating a full circle feel.
Overall, Anthems of the Abyss is an engaging and fun death metal album, with a myriad of unexpected tempo changes, interludes, passages and vocal moments. This is the sophomore full-length from Soul Grinder and shows great promise and creativity for the albums to come. Get your copy HERE.
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