Abduction – Existentialismus | Album Review

One of UKBM’s standout acts Abduction don’t like where the world is heading and make that clear as day on thrilling new album Existentialismus. Who knew nihilism could be so damn addictive?

UK black metallers Abduction have had a whirlwind few years. Originally dating back to 2016 as a solo black metal project, interest in the band exploded through the pandemic era, seeing them signed to the legendary Candlelight Records for their widely hailed 2022 critical darling Black Blood. After setting the scene alight with their reverent and heart-stopping live shows and playing numerous high-profile festivals and support slots since the release of their last album, Abduction’s enigmatic leader A|V opened the proverbial gates to their band members to produce new album Existentialismus as a coalition. It still follows the structural template of the band’s past work (ie, six lengthy tracks and a run time sitting just over forty minutes), yet there continue to be innovations and progressions.

Lead single and album opener ‘A Legacy of Sores’ kicks proceedings into gear on a high note, partly sounding like a cut from The Satanist era Behemoth that dove deeper into a caustic well of blackened bitterness. It’s nearly seven minutes of high-strung tension, anger and despair clouding the atmospheres of the track and setting the tone for the album ahead. Immediately following is ‘Pyramidia Liberi’ for a straightforward slab of black metal violence, the occasional flourish of a spoken word sample sitting amidst fierce careening instrumentals. It will dwell for a moment in a spacious, atmospheric breath before collapsing under its own heft and giving into the unruly churning anguish. 

The album was recorded and produced by Ian Boult at Stuck On A Name Studios in Nottingham, with additional post-production and mastering handled by Tore Stjerna (Watain and others) at Necromorbus Studios in Sweden. Their combined efforts have Abduction sounding at their monolithic peak. Existentialismus is simultaneously towing a line between paying homage towards the “traditional” black metal sound whilst the band push their own boundaries emotionally and sonically. The album sounds grand and luscious, cavernous reverbs saturate the vocals, razor sharp guitar tones with multi-layered melodies tear through the thick bass presence and pulverising drumming. Outside of the core instrumental focus there are various textural and dynamic ornamentations throughout the six tracks, which bring some welcome sonic experimentations into the bands sound and pay off handsomely.

The first big stylistic shakeup comes in the form of, arguably the standout track of Existentialismus, ‘Truth is as Sharp a Sword as Vengeance’. A discordant melody sets a sense of unease over a simple stomping beat and monstrous bass groove, a sample of an interview or therapy session about dreams sets the stage for nightmarish atmospherics. Breaking into an unexpected post-black metal melodic storm with vocal chants and leaning towards the edges of being in full DSBM territory. The repetitive, haunting melodic bridge being bolstered by demonic gurgles and switching to pained roars is breathtaking. Latest single ‘Blau is die Farbe der Ewigkeit’ follows and brings the experience back down to earth with another straight shooting black metal track. Its oppressive, brutal and contains some interesting rhythmic shakeups while being battered by abhorrent screams into the void.

The most notable experimentations for Abduction’s sound are found in A|V’s vocals. The expected black metal howls still take centre stage, but the addition of some biting inhuman drawls, haunting monastic style chants and even some spoken word passages make their way into the mix for a welcome shake up. Similarly it differs from a lyrical perspective; where Black Blood drew from a more existential, mystic, well of black metal imagery, Existentialismus dwells in more nuanced explorations of desperation, loss, disgust and hopelessness. The lyrical themes still sit in the nihilism of black metal but with a more poignant outlook, watching the world our generational elders strived to make better for their ancestors begin to crumble and fall apart at the seams because of apathy, greed, selfishness or ignorance. It is summarised succinctly by A|V themselves: “As a father, there’s a particular terror in seeing all that our grandfathers built, physically and morally, being torn apart and reduced to a commodity and wondering what kind of world my son will inherit.”

The last two tracks close the album in grand fashion. ‘Razors of Occam’ is another emotional twist, an unexpected doom/post-metal intro sounds almost like Pallbearer, making a bold choice by leaning heavily into clean choral vocals throughout its run time. It makes for an almost religious experience, leaning into the bands ritualistic reputation and is genuinely impressive how well it works when the track cracks into a bleak, dramatic maelstrom. Closer ‘Vomiting at Baalbek’ holds nothing back, the eleven minute epic feels like a truly apocalyptic closing statement. It starts as it means to go on, a churning and nauseating stop start intro that breaks into discordant atonal battery throughout the verse. The chorus somehow manages to attain a feeling of grandeur and claustrophobia, the epic shredded guitar melodies are layered with what is seemingly bagpipes, if not just incredibly piercing guitar tonality (in the best way possible). It makes for a tumultuous and dramatic finale, feeling like the end of the world is here at an emotional fever pitch.

Its hard to not get wrapped up in the very real place Abduction draws inspirations from Existentialismus, facing the perceived reality head on that humanity itself is at a complete loss. Over the six tracks you get seized by A|V’s bleak outlook, dragged through the streets to be shown exactly how fucked up everything is teetering on the edge of falling into. Much like their predecessor Black Blood, this album shakes up the black metal formula while still holding onto the core of what makes the genre its own beast. The most concerning part about all this is that no matter how unceasing this album is in its austere perception of reality, its almost addictive to revel in the misery that is put to tape. Whilst the UKBM scene is jam packed with talent who regularly output celebrated projects, Abduction may have just proved why they deserve to be considered at the top of the heap.