When I first picked up this album, I thought to myself, “Oh no, another cheesy Satanic-as-fuck Black Metal band that couldn’t afford real cover art so they stole something from an old comic book.” I bought it anyway, being fully aware that sometimes you get greatness in shitty packaging. What I got was ugly. And brutal. And Satanic. In other words, a really good Black / Death Metal album. Abaddon Incarnate sounds more akin to Incantation mixed with a little Necrotism-era Carcass and the horror movie samples of Mortician thrown in for good measure. There is a definite Grind influence amidst the churning, down-tuned guitar assault and the vocals are low but not monotone. The Last Supper isn’t for people who like lots of melody and artsy shit thrown in with their Death Fucking Metal. This is from the older school of Death, where brutality was mixed with being memorable and the whole thing was designed to make you headbang so hard that you dislocated your skull.

A lot of bands understand the idea that Death Metal should be brutal, and 7th Child is certainly no exception to that. But what appears to be difficult is combining that intensity with memorable songs. This is massive while you listen to it, destroying all within 15 feet of your speakers, and that is required of good Death Metal, but perhaps something could have been added somehow to make the songs more memorable and thus allow 7th Child to stand more on their own in this crowded Extreme Metal scene.

The band with the stupid name is back once again, hot on the heels of their very interesting split CD with Bloodthorn. But there’s something strange going on here: This is apparently only one disc of a 2CD set, with the other being all Ambient/Industrial/Noise that was recorded at the same time as this album. I guess Season of Mist figured that I’d hate the other disc (probably accurate), but it would have been nice to get the complete package. My complaints aside, this is plenty evil Black Metal that expertly incorporates synths into their speed and raw power.

I’m sure you know that vocalist/bassist David Vincent and guitarist Erik Rutan are out of MA. And for maybe a nanosecond I was concerned, but then realized Trey would find the best possible replacement for an otherwise inconsistent position in the band. Steve Tucker fills that position with so much ooze, er, ease that it’s madness! He uses a deeper register to his vox, and sings much faster, reminiscent of Altars of Madness, combining some of the best vocal elements required to make this band the rolling juggernaut it is and should always be. With Trey at the lyrical helm, the vessel that carries the Morbid enlightenment conjures images from the myths of Babylonia and the Ancient Ones, and in ancient tongues to boot! You know, the way it should be. Produced by Trey himself, this is certainly his album. His guitars are proof of that. Sludge induced riffs and contorted chaos solos, with unimaginable screeching arpeggios that maybe only two people on Earth can do, let alone use dexterously in a song repeatedly, speaks for itself. And let us not forget the swirling roaring ground which the unearthly Morbid Angel is grounded in, being the otherworldly drumming of Pete “Commando” Sandoval. I’ve heard many drummers, and a lot of them are fast, and I’ve done rational fair comparisons, but by far the best Death Metal drummer for some time has been Pete. His compositions are unmatched, and his control at multiple varying speeds of double bass is like a switch. An awesome album! But there’s something else here. The last track is this strange opus of more of a Rock origin. Weird, but I like it. I was certainly not expecting it, as opposed to the other strange musical diversions usually found on a Morbid album. Of these musical diversions, there are three distinct ones tacked to the end of the album. Perhaps one for each member of the band, because one is certainly Pete’s. First the title is in Spanish, loosely translated as “Ritual Hymns of War,” and its this rolling drum piece I initially thought was programed with this Dead Can Dance beat behind it or something. It’s nice to see these guys branch out and experiment a little, but perhaps they can somehow infuse these segregated aspects of themselves together into an amalgam of perfection. Oh, and they use that evil chime from “Blasphemy”! Spiritually, a superb Morbid album, and something… else.

After a fairly haunting synth intro, the symphonic Black Metal gets started. Fast and tight, these goatfuckers also manage to use the keyboards to make their blazing speed a bit more interesting. However, the vocals are insane cackles, which is not normally too bad, but as there is no lyric sheet, I can’t figure out the lyrics, and I like to know about that stuff.

This is no nonsense, straight ahead Death Metal. Absolutely brutal from beginning to end. These guys know how keep the aggression at maximum without letting it overpower the riff. Of special note are the title track and “To the Red Ones.” Both of which must be big mosh starters in their native Czech Republic. These songs also highlight the political bent to their music, which distinguishes them from their devil-worshipping brethren. The only oddball on the disc is the closing track, “About Death,” which includes some quasi-Black Metal keyboards and overdubs. Even on this tune, their pure, balls-out aggression wins out over any melodic overtones they wanted to make. Overall, a diamond hard gem of anger and brutality.

More Devil-worshipping Insanity Sludge Junk Metal. This time with cover art by convicted evildoer Mike “Boiled Angel” Diana. The music is sick, heavy, and raw, with plenty of feedback. While the vocals are beautiful screams from another reality of pure pain. So, I’m pretty much all for it.

After a little intro, my old friends get started with the ass kicking and don’t ever let up. This is sometimes straight ahead brutal Death Metal, while at other times, it’s more complex, technical, and even, dare I say it, experimental. With the last, “hidden,” track being the most so. Insanity aren’t afraid to take chances and try new things, but unlike other bands who like to experiment, they wisely know that they should also keep some things within the realm of Death.

I always wondered what happened to Horrified after their In the Garden of Unearthly Delights album came out back in ‘94. Apparently they broke up for awhile, but reformed in ‘98 and got right to work on this new LP. It’s a really European, non-brutal, Death Metal sound, to be sure, and there are a few sort of goofy bits that detract, but it’s still not bad.