I’ve been a fan of heavy music for over 30 years now and I admit that it took me a minute to embrace the extreme vocal style in the sub genre known as Death Metal. My first indoctrination to the genre was via the Australian band Mortification and I could barely handle it at the time. After years of growing to love this genre even more, especially the melodic side of the spectrum that has come to be in the last decade, I thought for sure that there could never be anything heavier than what I’d already been exposed to. Truth be told I think the melodic Death Metal scene spoiled me. I’ve currently found a new passion for the absolute heaviest music I’ve ever heard, and delivering this brain melting phenomenon is the band called Abated Mass of Flesh.

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Once again, I’ve found that I can barely stomach the guttural atrocities that this bands vocal style yields. It is however a good thing to be pushed from one’s comfort zone and Abated Mass of Flesh (what a name!) do just that in a most enticing manner. Their latest E.P. titled Not Burned is six songs of such brutally extreme proportions that my auditory nerves are in full blown overload.

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The opening track “Too Late” begins with a thin layer of that old vintage record player scratch that is if anything a false sense of what will follow. Within seconds the slow churning bottom end of a massive chug begins to fill the room and instantly seizes the listener at the very core of their Metal soul. As if only to tease, the less than two-minute track is replaced by a slightly faster paced groove called “Escape Route.” Lyrically I find that these guys have a very poetic way of introducing themselves and the essence of their life burdens.  E.G., “Swallowing hate, biding my time for an open door apart from you. Your cynical motives testing morality and I'll prove I'm more than the kings you emulate.” In keeping the momentum going, “Lock Up” creates a galloping riff that is another gem in the persuasive offering and doesn’t fall back on the previous incarnations. There is a sonic element that is very ethereal in feeling throughout this well-crafted work of metallic ingenuity. “Gun to Your Head” is another medium slow chugger but with constant double kick and some ominous lead work. There is a very doomy vibe going on here that at times reminds me of the legendary Paramecium from back in the day. “Break the Silence” is another faster paced marvel that exudes everything one of the faithful could hope for. Again, I find the lyrics to be most innovative giving stern warning to fight off dissenting forces. “When you've tied yourself down, how can you speak with a gun to your head. Unbound, count the cost. Resist, the voice of the lost”. On a side-note, the breakdown in the middle of this song is just brilliant. Closing out this short but fulfilling recording is the song “Fleeting” which is just as potent as the other five.

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No doubt, I find myself uncontrollably hitting restart to indulge in the experience all over again. This is certainly an acquired taste and not everyone’s cup of tea. The vocals without a lyric sheet are completely unrecognizable as words and the dark passion felt throughout is enough to make your hair stand on end. I suppose that is the nature of the beast though!

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-Priest