Absolute Darkness – Failure of State
Absolute Darkness – Failure of State
Sliptrick Records
Release Date: 13/12/22
Running Time: 48:00
Review by Paul Hutchings
7/10
Fancy some politically charged metal in the form of a molten blend of Amon Amarth, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary and more than a large scoop of Bay Area Thrash? Well, if you do, you won’t go far wrong if you pick the third album from San Francisco quartet Absolute Darkness.
11 tracks of bruising Metal await, with political subject matter merged with some snarling, nasty riffage that should fire up passions. There is plenty to get your teeth into even if you want to avoid the lyrical themes of dictatorship, assassinations, and calls to arms.
The drumming is relentless, a pounding jack hammer that powers the band forward. The vocals are gruff, raw, limited but suited to the band’s pummelling style. Guitarist and lead vocalist Ron Dorn brings a combination of Johan Hegg and George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fischer to each song and whilst it isn’t going to be flavour for the month for everyone, if you are partial to this type of gargled singing, you should enjoy it.
Opening song ‘Rounded Up’ starts things with high intensity, inspired by the Hong King democracy movement. We get ‘Sanity is Gone’, a punishing battery which takes on conspiracy theories, the grab for cash, and the knowledge that politicians are clearly there for their own means. It’s a blistering opening salvo, and well positioned to warm up the listener for the rest of the album. There are some thundering tracks. ‘My Assassination’ which deals with governments who take out their own dissidents (Russia, North Korea … and who really knows who else?) whilst the blood and guts of ‘Chaos Unleashed’ really doesn’t need much of an explanation.
My only challenge with this album is that whilst the songs have plenty of heft, there is an element of repetition. There are also a couple of weaker songs which struggle amid the more brutal beasts. The title track isn’t the strongest, whilst ‘Mad King’ is too close to Amon Amarth to be anything other than a bit of a copy. But these are minor gripes, for overall Absolute Darkness bring a fiery and vicious slab of Metal that should engage Metalheads world-wide.
‘Mob Rule’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Rounded Up
02. Mob Rule
03. Sanity Is Gone
04. My Forever Rule
05. Failure of State
06. My Assassination
07. The Republic
08. Unite!
09. Chaos Unleashed
10. Mad King
11. On My Way to Death
LINE-UP:
Ron Dorn – Guitar/Lead Vocals
Douglas Vetter II – Lead Guitar/Backup Vocals
Orson Sojo – Bass
Emad Dajani – Drums
LINKS:
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