Filthy Review - 'Corpsessed: Abysmal Thresholds'

Corpsessed - Abysmal Thresholds (2014)

Dark Descent Records

Review by Trevor Proctor

Abysmal Thresholds is the debut full length album from Finland’s Corpsessed, it follows their two previous EP releases, the most recent of which being their self-titled 7” EP in 2012 - the band was formed in 2007 featuring members from bands such as Murderaim and Tyranny. 

With previous releases garnering much praise, expectation around Abysmal Thresholds is high. Aside from the music the other incredible thing about the album is the in-house approach Corpsessed took with regards to production. Matti Mäkelä (guitar and backing vocals) recorded and engineered everything apart from the drum recordings which were done by L.Laaksonen, Mäkelä also played a part in the mixing of the album with D. Lowndess who also mastered it. To quote the extremely talented Mäkelä “So... no producers or anything.”

Aside from a brief instrumental intro this is 47 minutes of sheer death metal brutality, no arsing about, no bullshit and most of all no pretention this is a death metal album that’ll rip your ears off and shit in the holes left behind. It’s a crushing slab of pure unadulterated death, menacingly slow at times, others neck-wrenchingly fast, either way each and every track will batter your eardrums senseless.

Keyboards and effects are occasionally used in a subtle manner that never detracts from the overall sound, in fact adding to it in varied yet effective ways. The album isn’t vocally driven either but nonetheless Matilainen’s gravelly growls play a pivotal part in the music. I really enjoyed the album throughout but found it was the lengthier tracks such as Necrosophic Channeling and Thresholds that I returned to the most. Both pass the seven minute mark but give Corpsessed a better chance to demonstrate the variety of sounds, styles and speeds they can play, the entire time delivering blow after blow to the eardrums – fast or slow, every track is ferociously heavy and uncompromising.

With the Death Metal scene continuing its most productive period in decades it’s good to see there are plenty of talented new bands to continue the growth of the genre, Corpsessed are one such exciting band, an exceptional album and a great way to start the year. One of my favourite discoveries last year was an excellent Finnish band (Unkind) and I’m glad this year has started in a similar vein with a very strong release from another Finnish group, proving Finland’s music scene is stronger than ever and they have a lot more to offer the metal world than Children of Bodom. Some may argue we’ll never return to death metal’s glory days of the early 1990’s but with bands like Corpsessed around the scene will continue to grow, develop, improve and, perhaps, through time even surpass those days of old…

This is my second review of the year, following the excellent “When Dreams Become Nightmares” by Lethe and already I’ve had the enjoyable task of reviewing two seriously fantastic albums that will certainly both make my top twenty list for next year. Just into the year and the bar has been set very high –  Abysmal Thresholds is a very, very strong debut album with the band showing a maturity in sound greater than their years, moody, atmospheric and heavy as hell. 

Tracklist:

1. Intro

2. Of Desolation

3. Trepanation

4. Sovereign

5. Necrosophic Channeling

6. Ravening Tides

7. Apotheosis

8. Demoniacal Subjugation

9. Transcend Beyond Human

10. Thresholds.

Abysmal Thresholds is released via Dark Descent Records on the 4^th of February, 2014.