Abacinate-Genesis

Epitomite Productions 2011

Before starting this review I must mention my condolences to Abacinate after the death of their front man Jason "Plunger" Sica in September of 2010. For a young band to endure such a tragedy early in their career is heartbreaking. Genesis stands as a tribute to life and dedication. With the band's future on hold Genesis is a lasting memorial to a band who started out playing in a garage in New Jersey before clawing their way to the top. Having previously shared the stage with legendary groups like Napalm Death and Testament as well as newer bands like Job For A Cowboy the group forged a sound firmly rooted in brutal death thrash. But the band also blends in melodic moments to go along with the blistering heaviness. "Disturbing Remedies For A Desperate Disease" has some melodious guitar work going for it which helps keep things interesting. Being as it is modern death metal you can expect some hardcore to find it's way in. "Purveyors Of Scum" has one of those metalcore breakdowns in it. I'm not sure what drives today's bands to insist upon the Killswitch Engage worship. Thankfully tracks like "Necroplunger" and "The Natural Disasters" have more in common with Cannibal Corpse than Sick Of It All. "A Harmless Walk" is prime death metal in the vein of Morbid Angel while "An American Obsession" has traces of technical death like Atheist. I'm not going to lie and say this album is groundbreaking. That's far from the case. But it's a good album that keeps thing fresh with different sounds and lightly sprinkled doses of samples. The title Genesis should have signaled a new start for the band as they moved into the big league death metal scene. But as of now their future is really up in the air. That's too bad too as this album shows so much promise for Abacinate. Only time will tell if the band will be able to soldier on. For their sake I hope they can.