Review: “Begotten” by A Night In The Abyss

Established in 2013, Blackened Deathcore collective A Night In The Abyss have been casting a dark shadow over Brighton creating what they like to call “macabre melodies from miserable England“. Those songs have been good to them and the success of 2016 album “Necropolis” is there for all to see, a collective 130k Spotify streams for “Nepotism“, “Cold Hearted Comeuppance” and “Aborted Idol” being a considerable success for an Underground Metal act of any flavour. So with this new EP, some 23 minutes in total comes fresh hope and renewed optimism as well as a certain sense of intrigue as it was mixed and mastered by Jigsaw Audio (Confessions Of A Traitor, Last Hounds).

Dark Cinematic Orchestration brings a Hans Zimmer or Danny Elfman etheral quality to “One For Sorrow” as it dives deep into Cradle of Filth inspired synth laden Black Metal with blast beats galore and savage vocals which touch the void to Slam for a fleeting moment. A rich and exuberant solo flies off the fretboard like a hot knife through butter while the warmth of the synths embraces the lyric “No one can save me now” like the vice grip of the reaper dragging you to hell. “Son Of Self Affliction” brings more intensity with it as hammers home the coffin nails with elements of Nordic influence interlacing with the bands own tortures, the rhythm section being key to holding the sound together and giving the bands sound the power that the synths call forward. The synths themselves mean that the band aren’t as reliant on the guitar work as others in the genre and the odd breakdown is what perhaps gives the band the core element of the genre tag, although in truth they are few and far between. “Suspended By A Tread” paints in blood with an almost mournful lyric that plays with your mind as it flies in the face of the onslaught of ferosity that the band create. The dark spoken word is gloriously brooding and the “Bleigh!” moment wonderfully unexpected. A technical lead guitar introduction with an undercurrent of creepy synths raises the hairs on the back of the neck for title track “Begotten“, something that sounds like it should be accompanying a jail break from the Arkham Asylum, with a brutal gallop and pulverising staccato riffage wrapped in the bejewelled synths that the likes of Misstiq specialise in. The solo is immense and the whammy bar drop ending just adds to the huge sound the band have created here, with a sense of early Winds of Plague on this final cut and some savage throat shredding demonic calls adding to the weight of the sound. We want more. Give us more. [9/10]

Track listing

1. One For Sorrow (ft. Adam Bell)
2. Son Of Self Affliction
3. Suspended By A Thread
4. Begotten

“Begotten” by A Night In The Abyss is out now