I Am Abomination

To Our Forefathers

Written by: BL on 10/07/2010 01:42:22

It's easy to be disillusioned with what the so called "Scene" has to offer these days besides neon clad pop or the dispicable amount of carbon copy chugging screamo bands all with high pitched singers barely out of puberty. Fortunately I Am Abomination have set themselves up to break the monotony in rather surprising fashion. Their mould is still of a familiar scenesque-friendly post-hardcore sound, but add onto that a rather progressive and technical metal slant in the vein of Protest The Hero and Between The Buried And Me and with all clean vocals (save for a guest appearance from a certain Dave Stephens from We Came As Romans) you end up with a potent and rather unique mix for once.

"Since 1776" kick off the album in high fashion with vocalist Phil Druyor cranking out his smooth clean voice over blistering and intertwining instrumentals: soloing lead guitars running wild before intricate, angular and crunchy riffs bounce off each other at high velocity. All the while a friendly electronica influence in the form of synthesisers and well timed orchestral notes pop in and out. It rather sets the tone and the mark for the rest of the album and is an explosive opener for the band's unique stylisitc flavour. Highlights include "The Deceiver" with some of the harsher moments of the album, "Invisible Titans" with it's extra emphasised super melodic guitars and vocals combo, and "Art Attack" for the catchiest chorus of the whole album. All the songs are of a consistently high standard though, and there's no filler to be had anywhere fortunately enough (a rare thing I find).

Overall nothing gets quite as frantic nor blindingly virtuoso for the sake of it at times (in my opinion) compared to Protest The Hero - resulting in something a bit more contained and hence accessible. Nor are any overly heavy elements save for a few odd creatively worked breakdowns and the guest vocal spot on the furious "Rock N'No Soul" - where the band even wander into mildly neo-classical territory with the lead guitars in the intro. Production from Joey Sturgis has surprisingly managed to bring out all the instruments in equal measure for the first time - I think gone are the days where his bass guitar is straight to the credits and missed in action 99% of the time. And then there's that Phil's voice is smooth and bright as I mentioned before without sounding forcefully digitally perfected, and for me, helps him deliver some really competent and memorable performances track after track. This is important as you need decent well worked catchy parts that people can sing to if the instrumentals are so high octane that you might get left behind.

With everything in mind, the band show remarkable talent in keeping you entertained one way or another. Whether that be the catchy vocal parts which for once aren't whiny for the first time in ages (take a hint the rest of you), the slick solo driven guitar work that is just so much more interesting than what most other bands in the "scene" will offer, or just the imaginative combination of it all in motion. There's life in this scene yet.

8

Download: The Deceiver, Invisible Titans, Art Attack
For the fans of: Protest The Hero, Chiodos, Between The Buried And Me (Alaska)
Listen: Myspace

Release date 11.05.2010
Good Fight Music

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