STATIC ABYSS
STATIC ABYSS “Aborted From Reality”
By Dr. Abner Mality
If there’s no rest for the wicked, then Chris Reifert and Greg Wilkinson must be as evil as they come. These dudes don’t sleep. I’ve lost count of how many projects Reifert is involved in (other than his main gig AUTOPSY) and Wilkinson is also in DEATHGRAVE as well as AUTOPSY. To say nothing of the fact that STATIC ABYSS had their first record out less than a year ago. There’s no moss under these guy’s asses, that’s for sure.
I liked STATIC ABYSS’ debut “Labyrinth of Veins” well enough, but it just seemed like a doomier out-take of AUTOPSY. Well, on album #2, STATIC ABYSS kicks up its game and has more of its own sound. This one is an improvement all across the board and in fact, I prefer it to the last AUTOPSY disc “Morbidity Triumphant”. Everything is kicked up here...the fast parts are more brutal, the doom parts are more sick and morose and Wilkinson’s lead guitar solos are weirder and more psychedelic than ever. In all aspects STATIC ABYSS has upped the ante.
The opening title track lays out their strategy well...it opens with a full barrage of raging fast death metal with crusty edges and then slows down into swampy, warped death-doom topped off with mournful lead work. A lot of the lead guitar on this album reminds me of PARADISE LOST/MY DYING BRIDE mixed with the weird sickness of strange death metal like AFFLICTED and CONVULSE. The songs tend to be short and punchy, with “Dehumanized” being less than a minute and “Poisoned Limbs” being exactly a minute. Yet they are no less effective for that. The gloriously titled “Cathedral of Vomit” and ending ode “The Static Abyss” are woozy, unhealthy convulsions of death-doom, with Reifert’s always sick vocals adding to the horror. I also want to bring your attention to Wilkinson’s oozing bass work, which never is content to just plod along but adds its own atmosphere.
You can tell how serious a band is about their business by the quality of their sophomore album. STATIC ABYSS has got nothing to worry about in that regard.