Ablach - Aon CD

I had seen the name of this band around, and thought they'd be a lousy black metal band, but I'm really glad about how wrong I was. Ablach are not a shitty black metal band, but instead a fucking headcrushing mess of crust/grind/death from Scotland. This CD features 13 songs in 19 minutes, not somethign that I'd usually complain about, but it just whizzes by too fast for me. Included in that 13-song count are a Terrorizer cover (Corporation Pull in) and a Napalm Death cover (Unchallenged Hate- which I heard on their myspace page and was what really compelled me to buy this CD).

In addition to the fact that this shit totally floats my boat, some lyrics are in English, and others in Gaelic, and the topics cover all sorts of Scottish history. At the end of the liner notes is a disclaimer, however, that none of the lyrics are meant in any sort of nationalistic manner, but rather only deal with the area where they're from. This is an interesting perspective, to say the least, and surely gives me a relief from the usual boring rehash crap that most bands use as lyrics.

This is a 6-dude band and the proof is in the pudding because the production is thick enough to not be an insult to the riffs. The guitars are scooped in a weird way, but it works for Ablach. The two singers run the gamut of lows and highs, the latter of which hit a different tone than the usual fodder. Overall, this CD was really refreshing to listen to. This album was a pleasant surprise as I've been feeling let down by what most bands have been bringing to the table as of late. I definitely look forward to more releases from Ablach. (Blastwork Records)