German's riff factory ABYTHIC is about to release their second full-length, "Conjuring the Obscure", on Sep. 11, 2019. At eight tracks long, the release is a short but robust burst of dark Death Metal that is guaranteed to impress.

The ideal scenario for releasing an album is to release a couple of singles beforehand. These singles should be some of the better songs on the records, and they should not be the best. Because a band should have music that is good enough to promote the album and garner excitement without giving away any surprises. This is the exact situation we have with Abythic.

The two singles released, while they are not the best tracks, are two very good tracks regardless. It's quite perfect, really, because they even have nice placement on the album. "Shrouded in Perpetual Darkness" has catchy, memorable riffs surrounded by dark, gloomy riffing. It has a strong finish that leaves the listener wanting more. The next single, "Drifting Among Shadows", has a very AUTOPSY-like sound with heavy riffs and nice vocal differentiation.

Then we have songs like "Ruins in a Wasteland of Visions" and "Coronation by the Burning Winds" that stay consistently heavy and dark throughout their entirety. They keep a flow and progress with what they have. The final product is some of the darkest Death Metal created in the past decade. These songs give the band a definition.

The album is nicely structured. All of the best songs are evenly spread out, in fact, the track that I felt was the least memorable was the first one. While this may not be a good hook, it is forgotten once the album progresses. Each track has its darkened theme, each one unique yet also synonymous with the rest.

Among the Old School Death Metal releases so far in 2019, this is one of the better ones. Traces of ASPHYX and INFERNAL DOMINION are common throughout the music. It reeks of doom and it crushes with the most kinetic of forces. While it isn't the most original music, it's still very inspired.