Metal Underground.com

Upon hearing the weird, 8-bit sounding intro to Abysmal Torment’s “Omnicide,” I really had no idea what to expect. Indeed, this album was surprising. Abysmal Torment is a Maltese death metal band that specializes in brutality. While brutal, slamming death metal is not typically my genre of interest, this album definitely caught and kept my attention. Aggressive and brutal the entire way through, Abysmal Torment will definitely appeal to fans of guttural, slamming death metal. What is interesting about this album is the general sound it has and the cool elements that Abysmal Torment includes in the details.

I’m just going to get right to it: when it comes to the music, “Omnicide” is pretty standard fare for brutal death metal. The riffs are down tuned and blistering, the drums are pounding the entire way through, and the vocals are harsh and angry. What is interesting about this album is that all of the music is tastefully done, yet still brutal; I can’t say that this album demonstrates the over the top musical wankery seen in a lot of similar bands.

Some parts are even catchy, such as the chorus on “Scorched Beneath Flaming Wings.” The guitar work is varied enough in the aggression to stay interesting as well. From typical death metal riffs, to groovy core sounding riffs, to intense chugging sections, this album keeps one on their toes. “Recursive Hatred” uses some memorable melodic riffing that I wish the band would have used more of. I can even hear some black metal inspiration on “Omega.” Even the breakdown-esque parts are well played and don’t detract from the music.

Even so, some parts get old fast (especially the sections with the guttural pig squealing vocals) and the album does get a little long near the end. I think the band could have avoided this by chopping off a few songs, but when one gets down to it, there is only so much a band this brutal can do on one album without trite. Still, “Omnicide” is still worth at least a play through. I would recommend this album to any lover of brutal, unrelenting music.