### Abaton: Hecate

#### 08/02/12 || gk

Italy’s blackened sludge band Abaton formed in 2010 and it hasn’t taken them long to record and release their debut album with “Hecate” appearing during the end of 2011.

The band plays a black metal inspired sludgy doom that is quite heavy and bleak and certainly has its moments. Album opener “My Helvete” starts off with an ominous, heavy and pounding riff before speeding things up with a punk bit and then slowing things down to a crawl yet again with some post metal type riffing, dual vocals and a steady build up that is handled quite effectively. “Nia” opens with some chaotic hardcore before settling into some mid paced sludge for most of the duration of the song but manages to somehow inject a black metal atmosphere into the song. “Exceeds” is a brooding and slightly melodic song that is almost traditional doom till the halfway point before mutating into an Altar of Plagues like black metal style. “Too Close Fire Epilogue of Beginning” is a strangely titled song and forsakes much of the doom for a mostly fast paced hardcore meets black metal sound and is unsettling with its very randomly screamed dual vocals. “Transcending of Perception” has a solid opening riff that carries on through much of the song. Employing a slightly dissonant melody and vocals that are buried in the mix this is easily the best song on the album. “Hecate” closes with “Metamorphosis” and its a pretty good song managing to build some atmosphere by drawing out the riffs before speeding things up with a black metal riff.

Abaton has tons of potential. There’s at least one part in every song that is memorable and will get you grooving. The use of dissonant melody is impressive and there’s a lot to like about this debut. Having said that, the band has not yet mastered the art of transitioning between soft and heavy or slow and fast. Often, the song comes to a complete halt before moving on to the next part and whatever change is in store. These transitions feel a bit sloppy and amateurish. The dual vocal approach is also inconsistent. While it works in a song like “Nia” with both vocalists taking turns and then coming together to heighten the impact of the song, elsewhere they sound rushed and almost like they’re competing for space.

This whole blackened sludge meets hardcore sound isn’t exactly new anymore and the closest comparison I can think of is New Zealand’s Creeping which works within a very similar template but is far superior in execution. Overall, Abaton is a young band worth keeping an eye on, but these Italians still have some way to go before I’d consider them essential.

- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Lo-Fi Creature
- Website: Abaton MySpace
- Band
- Silvio Sassi: vocals
- Riccardo Petrini: vocals
- Marco Burbassi: guitars
- Matteo Stefanelli: bass
- Damiano Rogai: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. My Helvete
- 02. Nia
- 03. Exceeds
- 04. Too Close Fire Epilogue of Beginning
- 05. Trascending of Perception
- 06. Metamorphosis