OBTRUNCATION have been playing Death Metal since 1989, and have seen the heyday of the Death Metal genre in the 1990's. After a seventeen year hiatus from the recording studio, the band have returned with their second album, "Abode of the Departed Souls". Does their brand of very Old School sounding Death Metal still have the same gravity that it might have nearly two decades ago? Has the time between records changed their sound in any way?

Most Death Metal albums start off with some kind of intro, or maybe even a song which gradually builds into the faster and more aggressive tracks. OBTRUNCATION aren't about that, and the opening song, which is also the title track, burst out of the speakers immediately and makes a concerted effort to hit you with their heaviest work. "Guru" is very much the same; a fast, unrelenting Death Metal track which has an old school style with a more modern sound, thick guitar lines and blasting drums. "Scourge of a Dying World" is extremely fast and melodic, but nonetheless heavy. Songs such as "The Presence" and "Soil of Disease" have a lot of extreme Thrash influences that are audible, and are both among the best songs on offer out of the nine on this album. There is also plenty of groovy, guitar driven tracks on here which will be appealing to fans of the genres present titans. The best of these songs are "Slitting 16", " The Wild Chase" and the closer, "Winged Upon Earthly Life", which have such thick, brilliant guitar lines that it'll be hard to keep your head still. Another album highlight, and one of the stand out tracks on here, is the brilliant "Callous Concept", which is built around amazing lead guitar parts, and trudges along like a tank until its conclusion. The riffs are great, and sound very Old School, while at the same time having a sharper, more modern edge to them, which can probably be attributed to the production on this record. Unlike many old Death Metal albums, which have a slightly under-produced feel about them, which made them altogether more special, this album has a very modern and polished production quality, which works very well with this collection of songs.

Both OBTRUNCATION and Vic Records should be immensely proud of this release. The band have come back from a very long time away from the studio and shown that they are still able to put out great music. Its decidedly old school in style, but fresh and modern at the same time. This will appeal to Death Metal fans old and new, and I'd recommend checking it out for yourself.