If you've been following ABHORRENT DECIMATION, you'll know that they are rising Technical Death Metal group based out of London, England (UK). Formed not too long ago (in the year of 2013) they have established themselves as a unique, mind-twisting, brutal and original Death Metal force - and the three releases that they have put out in these four years prove so; from their 2013 debut EP titled "Infected Celestial Utopia", through to the game-changing first full-length album titled "Miasmic Mutation", and finally, their brand new album that I shall be talking about, "The Pardoner".

The first two records were released through Cold Birth Records, whilst this new one is a more serious record, and was endorsed by Prosthetic Records. I was a fan of their previous record, so I'll be presenting you their newest one with great excitement. There are ten tracks in total, and the first one is "Soothsayer". It begins with an elegant, piano-based intro, starting the album off with some melancholy. In the meantime, I would like to say that I have also conducted an interview with the band (it is available on the site), so if you're a fan and want to know more about them and the new record, make sure to read it. The song continues on with extremely fast drumming, low growls and an overall great atmosphere. The vocalizations, the way the bass is played, the overall riffs, most of these elements are focused on originality and a slow-paced way of playing. It already feels crushing, and what's nice about everything is that the song doesn't end with silence but it just goes right on to the next one, titled "Heretic Sacrifice". This track is a bit longer than the previous one - making the two pretty long, given that both are kind of connected. I adore the style of the vocals, not only because it doesn't copy every single band in the genre, but because of its massive energy - and the riffs are also unstoppable.

"Votive Offerings" starts with an interesting, creepy intro part, followed by the drums that keep getting louder and raging vocals that mostly focus on various growling techniques, and of course the audible bass and guitar parts. Lastly, the mix is something I also like, because if the music isn't enough, that massive, blood-chilling atmosphere makes it all the more enjoyable. Although the third track was seven minutes long, the next one is back to the basic lengths. "Granted Indulgence" focuses itself on grooves, lots of varied riff work; and of course by now the listener is probably used to how brutal the vocals can get. Besides having a small melodic touch, there's no doubt that this modern sound could be categorized in the technical side of Death Metal, and although it is not their main genre, the band sure has some mad playing skills. A lot of focus lies on delivering a sound we all love and have previously had the pleasure of experiencing on their previous two releases, but they band still maintain a new, original, and fresh sound.

"Black Candle Gathering" doesn't make you feel like you reached the first half of the album; instead it just simply lets you wander away in your thoughts, whilst blasting those sick musical parts. "Conspire" keeps breaking speed records, whilst still having the ability of slowing down when the time is right. The vocals get madder with every new song; not to mention how savagely the instrumental parts are executed. Pure madness! I would also like to highlight how good the artwork on this album is, and if you were wondering who's behind it - it was Karmazid, whose works can be found on Facebook. Although I liked the whole idea of a gigantic flying space monster on "Miasmic Mutation", the idea behind the cover of "The Pardoner" should be interesting too. Plus the cover features a near dead person around a cross, which doesn't really get any more brutal than that.

Back to the tracks. The ending of the sixth track featured more piano, which was awesome, and "A Glass Coffin Burial" is exactly what I wanted to hear from this band; that song is beyond perfect. The technical guitar intro, the sick and twisted growls, the sharp, unstoppable drumming, and instead of only having growls this one has some mad screams too. Slowly approaching the end of the album, "The Scythe in the Dark" shows us no mercy with relentless guitar work, and the instrumental piece "Host" is back with the bizarre intros and even more brutal playing; serving as a perfect warm up track for the last song.

The title-track, "The Pardoner" comes on, and this is what we all have been waiting for. A classic instrumental part comes on, but not for too long, since the previous track gave us enough of it. I have a feeling the strongest vocals are to be heard on this track, not because of its length, but mostly because of everything it has to offer. It is made to be the perfect closing track, with small amounts of influences from every previous one.

If you like Death Metal that is a bit technical, groovy as hell, twisted, sometimes brutal, and even melodic, and you like bands such as DECAPITATED, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER or MAN MUST DIE, you know what to do!!