Fans of Autopsy and Violation Wound will be delighted to hear Chris Reifert is back with a new project, teaming up with Autopsy’s new bass player, Deathgrave’s Greg Wilkinson, as Static Abyss. Their debut offering, Labyrinth Of Veins, promises to deliver a dose of eerie Death/Doom Metal depravity as a new mouthpiece for a rotten age.
Static Abyss – Labyrinth Of Veins (Peaceville Records)
Release Date: 22 April 2022
Words: Jools Green
The album’s themes are to “explore the echoes of insanity manifested through human existence,” Chris Reifert says. So, grabbed your attention, has it? It certainly has mine.
From the offset, this album has you by the throat. The up-tempo opener, Feasting On Eyes, tears forth in the form of a deranged D-beat rich driver, the perfect carrier for Chris’ snarling vocal delivery, then a sinister midpoint drop away that is as dramatic as it is unnerving.
Nothing Left To Rot unleashes more insanity, spiralling riffs, followed by a drop into the murkiest doom-laden abyss you can imagine. Brutally powerful and unnervingly engaging, the riffs are utter insanity, crawling back out of the mirk with sinister driving intent.
You Are What You Kill is a full-throttle sinister driver, melded with hypnotic riffing, giving way briefly to a sinister burst of leadwork. Mandatory Cannibalism is predominantly an unnervingly doomy piece, filled with slow deranged riffs and snarling vocals, with the pace ramping up to a frenzy very quickly, only to drop further. It’s magnificently atmospheric in the most unnerving horror instilled way imaginable.
Labyrinth Of Veins is suspensefully and ominously doomy throughout. An unnerving meld of protracted growling vocalisations, eerie sinister riffing carefully punctuated with dramatic flourishes of drum work.
In complete contrast, at least initially, Jawbone Ritual is a deranged onslaught of manic riffs and drum work with screaming vocals to open. However, it still manages to flit and switch in direction before taking a doomy plunge that emanates further deranged screams and eerie riffing. This adds a very dark and sinister atmosphere just before midway, where it remains until the final thirty seconds, returning to the manic opening style.
Contort Until Death is a maniacal meld of hammering rhythms, pounding drum work and eerie riffs, topped with deranged tortuous vocals, as brutally unpredictable as it is engaging.
Tectonic Graveyard oozes a sinister air of trepidation to open, which intensifies when the vocals arrive, and when the pace picks up, you have that unnerving sense of pursuit—definitely one to get the hair on the back of your neck on edge.
Morgue Rat Fever is a filthy galloper with very sinister riffing when the pace slows. Finally, Clawing To The Top Of The Dead drives with punch, ebbing and building with malice and sinister intent.
Labyrinth Of Veins is a masterclass in flesh searing Death/Doom. Chris and Greg make a formidable and impressive duo. I love this album so much.
Hopefully, they’ll deliver more sometime in the future.
Labyrinth Of Veins will be released on CD, digitally, and on black vinyl LP with printed sleeves including full lyrics. Pre-orders are available at staticabyss.lnk.to/LabyrinthOfVeins
