ACRID DEATH are a German band and "Abominable Presence of Light" is their debut full-length album. The line up includes Thomas Winterscheid on bass, Phillip Koch on drums, Volker Bass and Christian Schmidt on guitars and the vocalist Tobias Keller. Some of the guys have been active in other bands such as DRIVEN BY ENTHROPY and ALL ITS GRACE so they are not newbies to the scene. Let's see what they have to offer then...

The opening intro track "In Light" immediately reminds of CARCASS and the opening guitar riffs of the "Heartwork" album. The sound is heavy yet with a melodic edge. Then "Huntsmen" explodes with fast tempo and the well-known to every Death metal fan Swedish buzzsaw guitars. There is a definite similarity to the sound of GRAVE mainly due to the powerful growls of Tobias Keller who also provides some high screaming. This track also has an official video recorded for it. "Presence" continues the fast pace with galloping tempo and some blastbeats thrown in. The strangely titled "G.L.O.R.R.G." is a slower piece of Death metal and it is the longest track in the album. It has a more doomy atmosphere and some ASPHYX elements in it. What follows is the shortest track in this record which is "Dreg Heap" and it is a powerful mix of Thrash and Swedish Death metal with an ENTOMBED influence. "Negative Space" hits gard with a combination of slower passages and blastbeats, this track reminds a bit of some of the ferocious tracks of the legends AUTOPSY. "Shadows" comes next and it starts with a Black metal guitar riff which transforms later on into a smashing Swedish Death metal sound. The song offers a melodic guitar lead which should be mentioned because the "Abominable Presence of Light" doesn't have much guitar leads in its tracks. "Heave" follows with an AMON AMARTH-like passage and this track as a whole sounds like written by the Swedish Viking Death masters. It is more epic with plenty of double bass drumming and the growls/screams dual vocals. The end of ACRID DEATH's debut album is set by the simply titled "In Hell" which is again a Swedish Death metal worship, nothing more, nothing less than that.

There is no doubt that ACRID DEATH are a talented band that loves the Swedish Death metal scene. They sound just like the bands that they like to listen to and take influence from. "Abominable Presence of Light" is a good debut that doesn't offer anything original but still is an enjoyable listen.