ABYTHIC is a death meal band from Germany, who formed in 2015.  Their latest ep, "Eden of the Doomed," is their fifth overall release; they have released three full lengths and their debut ep came out in 2015. This is my first time hearing the band's music so I can't speak for any previous albums but "Eden Of The Doomed," is stressing inducing death metal with strong doom influences.  Although there are faster parts sprinkled throughout, this overall less about speed and more about a slow, steady injection of boulders being dropped onto your face.  Rather than focus on speed for intensity, they instead run their death metal to a slow grinder that pushes the music into insanely abrasive territories.

At only 17 minutes in length with three tracks, this is one of those EP's that doesn't have a dull moment and begs to played again and again. The production is raw enough to make the atmospheric sulfuric but not so rough that it is unsustainable.  On the contrary, the album's sound really pulls out the darkness of the music.  The album opens with "Revelation From The Great Vastness Thereafter," and a grinding riff and lead work that sends the album down into the abyss.  It is immediately unsettling, especially when the ultra deep and gravely growls arrive. By the time a minute or so passes, the band has already slowed the music down to a crawl but this is one of clawing desperation and never ending pain.  Around the 1:50 mark, another guitar lead cuts in—the lead work here is very impressive and it always compliments the atmosphere while adding more layers to it. The middle part is a slow head banger-this is the kind of death doom I love and can't get enough of.  I lost count of how many times I had to rewind this because I needed to hear it again and again. The band throws some gallop into their step in the later half, letting go of the doom for a second but grasping the heaviest of death metal.

The second track is "Conquest Of The One True Creed," and this one begins with a slow hammering riff and low growls but increases the speed as the seconds go by.  The groove of this song is scary and dirty as hell.  I love how the riffs change, appearing to just vomit forth from some unholy portal.  What amounts to melody for this band makes its presence known before the 2:40 mark but it only adds to the dismal hell of the song. Around the 3:38 mark, the song goes back to it its desperate crawling as a lead paints the landscape.  Suddenly, the air is ripped open with a crack of lighting as the song just hurdles forward a million miles an hour.  Whiplash anyone?  Jesus.

The last track is "Victory In Your Eden of The Doomed," and what a victory it is!  I love the sinister guitar tone that rides the undercurrent of the spoken word. The band pulls out all the stops for a truly depressing yet evil sound.  On top of all that, the song is surprisingly catchy especially the vocal patterns. Do you have a spare 17 minutes? Of course you do.  Why?  Because you could do a lot worse in that time than listen to the impressive blast of hellish death metal that is ABYTHIC's "Eden Of The Doomed."