Relics of Great Ash, the latest from Columbus, OH-based black/doom/death project Abyssal Rift, is a towering, atmospheric and catchy genre meld with a central vision that shines through.
The band self identifies as a "death doom" outfit, but the elements that stand out to me the most on this album in particular are the black metal elements. The riffs are surfy and catchy in ways that compliment and transition well into the heavier, more chug-dependent doom sections. But there are influences from other metal subgenres as well, including death metal and thrash-sounding riffs.
Relics of Great Ash starts out swinging with the fast and frantic tremolo riff on "Consummate Design," which quickly alternates between this frenetic melody and some heavy chugs in a way that reminds me of Concrete Winds — another act that plays with different genre sounds through a black metal lens. This intro gives way to a blistering blast beat, which picks up into a D-beat accompanied by a Slayer-reminiscent solo.
The second track, the titular standout "Relics of Great Ash" is maybe the doomiest we get, with slow, foreboding riffs that keep a consistently weighty pace without meandering. There's also some interesting synth work in that sounds like an '80s cosmic horror soundtrack — in fact, the whole album almost sounds like if Conan did acid, and maybe a little speed sometimes.
Abyssal Rift show a lot of identity in their sonic language here; every track on the record has one or two riffs that they can immediately be considered their hallmarks, like at the three-minute mark in "The Death of God," which has some double kick drumming accompanying a very old-school death metal tremolo riff, and the closer, "Sphere of Perpetuity," that slows it all down again and mixes in some spacey stoner metal soundscapes.
"Sphere of Perpetuity" also boasts the LP's best vocal performance from Matt Auxier, who has some brutal, savage growls at the beginning of the track. Elsewhere, the vocals can occasionally get lost in the mix and almost sound muted. When they really stand out — like on the closer and at the opening of the title track, which has some great harsh backing vocals as well — Auxier's vocal highlights become something to crave more of.
At its core, Relics of Great Ash is an eclectic, atmospheric album that, for the most part, does a great job of balancing all of its different elements. Its density compresses something metal fans of all stripes can appreciate at every twist and turn.
