California outfit Abysmal Dawn are getting ready to release their fourth full-length slab of death metal Obsolescence. The official press release via LambGoat reads:
Modern death metal masters, Abysmal Dawn, return with a massive display of refined brutality on their fourth full-length Obsolescence. Obsolescence will be released October 28th in North America (UK/World October 27th and Germany/Benelux/Finland on October 24th) via Relapse Records. Pre-orders for Obsolescence will be available shortly, the album will be available in CD, LP and digital formats.
Abysmal Dawn strikes the perfect balance between extreme songwriting and exceptional skill with an infectious blend of technical yet memorable riffs, throat shredding vocals, and crushing rhythms delivered with machine gun precision. With Obsolescence, Abysmal Dawn unleash a veritable beast of a record and the perfect example of what 21st century death metal should sound like. The album was produced by Mike Bear at Artisan Road and mixed and mastered by John Haddad at Trench Studios.
The devastating, otherworldly artwork by Par Oloffson (The Faceless, Spawn of Possession) and the track listing for Obsolescence has been revealed.
Frontman Charles Elliott spoke about Obsolescence:
“Three years have passed since the release of ‘Leveling the Plane of Existence’, and it’s high-time we released another slab of epic, bludgeoning death metal. This album took over a year and a half to come to fruition between writing and recording, and I think the blood sweat and tears definitely show in the final work of art.
“The title of the record is inspired by the term ‘planned obsolescence’, and is applied to all of mankind. In business terms, it means to manufacture a product that’s made to breakdown after a certain amount of time, so that it can be replaced. People. Societies, governments and religions all have an expiration date for their usefulness in this world; they break down and are replaced just like any other commodity. If you follow the band, you know that dehumanization is a running theme with us, and you’ll be relieved to know we aren’t singing about rainbows, puppies and the girl next-door on this one.
“I also have to say, it was a great pleasure of mine to have our friend and amazing guitarist, Christian Muenzer, lay down a guest solo on a track. My teenage guitar hero Bobby Koelble shreds on a song as well, making it the only metal album I can think of that he played on since ‘Symbolic’! That in itself is a huge honor for me.
“We even did a cover song of Dissection’s ‘Night’s Blood’ that I think everyone will enjoy. We tried hard to obtain the integrity and vibe of the original and I think we achieved that. It’s the first cover we ever recorded. So we made sure we did it right!
“When all is said and done, I believe this is to be our crowning achievement so far, and I’m sure the fans will agree once they hear it. Thank you for all your support over the years. See you all on tour this Fall!”
Track listing:
1. Human Obsolescence
2. Perfecting Slavery (featuring Christian Muenzer)
3. Inanimate
4. Devouring the Essence of God (featuring Bobby Koelble)
5. One Percent Incomplete
6. Loathed in Life / Praised in Death
7. By My Demons
8. Laborem Liberat Te
9. The Inevitable Return to Darkness
Bonus Track:
10. Night’s Blood (Dissection cover)