I have a long held belief that predictability is underrated, and it ties in here with the rise in credibility once more of the concept of mono-tasking… rather than the futility of being merely competent in several disciplines there is something to be said in the mastery of a point of focus, and delivering again and again in that field. These words need to be framed with a context that this is not damning with faint praise or providing criticism, but acknowledgement that Unveil In The Abyss (Xtreem Music), the seventh full-length from doom / death stalwarts Desecresy, follows the patterns and symbols laid down by its predecessors, and does so to the expected standards sole contributor Tommi Grönqvist has long established.

With a deep-rooted sound, forged on the anvil of the late eighties and early nineties Finnish death metal (with a liberal grunt of Bolt Thrower poured into the molten mix) over the course of their discography, various productions have proven somewhat of an achilles heel to the Desecresy legacy. Unveil In The Abyss manages to side-step that particular trap, meaning the vision is untampered.

 

Churning lower fretboard riffs are the order of the day, harkening back to Karellian Isthmus era Amorphis and Abhorrence, while Grönqvist delivers a foetid line in swampy subterranean guttural vocals that add depth and murkily dwell in and amongst the riffs, and the first couple of tracks gurgle by. ‘Cult of Troglodytes’ takes a different approach, easing in with an atmospheric synth before the gloom engulfs once more. There are shades to the dark, though, and ‘Necrolevitation’ shifts, a barreling tank of a song based around a chromatic chuggery and a descending lead-pattern hewn from the early Peaceville days of before breaking down to charge back in. ‘Dissolve Through Obscure Worlds’ returns us to the darkness.

 

The singularity of vision, the utmost focus, and the execution are all to be admired, as is Grönqvist’s ability to navigate around the tight space without things being too samey or repetitive. Unveil In The Abyss feels the most accurate representation of Desecresy to date, is the most consistent in terms of performance across all the instruments, the strongest sonically and in presentation of the art, and provides a monument to the timelessness of the traditional death doom sound of Finland.

 

Buy the album here: https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/unveil-in-the-abyss

 

7 / 10

STEVE TOVEY