Album Review: Static Abyss – The Dying Hunt
Reviewed by Gareth Pugh
Chris Reifert is not only a legend of death metal, but it can also easily be argued he’s a co-founder of the entire scene together with Chuck Schuldiner in an early line-up of Death! I will leave such discussion and debate to others and merely comment on the great man’s latest output, no not a new album from death metal gods Autopsy, but prolific side project Static Abyss. Combining death and doom into a gnarly yet hypnotic grind together with fellow autopsian Greg Wilkiinson (guitar, bass, songwriting, production), a man that Chris himself describes as a “riff writing machine”, this time around Reifert only handles vocals and lyrics and hands the drumming duties over to Chad Gailey (Necrot) who is also an Autopsy live member.
So, after two critically acclaimed albums, third album “The Dying Hunt” starts off as it means to go on with ‘Skull Blasted’ which comes hurtling out of the speakers with a crusty, punk energy that, well, blasts your skull in under 2 minutes! It’s a bit more direct than some of the material we have come to expect, almost harking back to Reifert’s other band, the now defunct Abscess, but sets the rest of the album up perfectly. ‘Lobotomized at Last’ is more standard fair with eerie guitar melodies and crushing riffs. The title-track uses dark, descending melodies superbly, whereas ‘Bleeding in the Fog’ contrasts fast and slow parts to batter you around the head with maximum effect, with some seriously disturbing guitar melodies mixed in for good measure.
One of my favourite tracks is the 5 minute ‘Nowhere Forever’ with its putrid melodic chimes, blast beats and quick as lightning tempo changes. This is followed by the explosive ‘Defleshed and Forlorn’ while the album closes with the epic ‘Darkness at the End of the Light’ brings things to a close in a thoroughly gloomy and morbid conclusion.
The recording is dank and dreary and yet it’s as clear as a bell, with every instrument discernible in the mix, with Greg himself overseeing the recording and mixing process. This is a fabulous album, which I can only describe as like being woken from a nightmarish fever dream by someone using a pneumatic drill on your skull! If you’re waiting for a new album from the Autopsy mothership, then this might just satisfy your craving. My final thoughts; this is a depressingly miserable album, and I love it.
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