Elimination - Echoes Of The Abyss

 

Named after the Overkill song and formed back in 2007 in East Anglia, Elimination released a couple of albums and toured with the likes of Evile and Gama Bomb before taking a hiatus in the mid-2010s. Echoes of the Abyss is now Elimination's first full-length in a decade. Announced in the summer, Elimination treated attendees at Dayfest in Ipswich to a full runthrough of the album shortly before a very last-minute performance at Bloodstock a couple of months ago. Echoes of the Abyss is a thrash album, no doubt, but with nods to all sorts of differing styles of metal throughout. It's full to the brim with melody, aggression and raw talent. More importantly, it shows an evolution and maturity in the band's sound compared to their earlier work. 

A creepy, clean guitar intro sets the tone with wailing, distant leads that eventually make way for the big drop into 'Disciples of the Beast'. Elimination progress into a glorious thrash riff, but its sense of melody is undoubtedly taken from the glorious old school of heavy metal. The slamming double-bass drums and furious fills towards the end give it a serious sense of heavy. Vocalist/bassist Neil takes on the role of narrator as an 'an ancient god, a beast of wrath and vengeance from the deep'. The chorus prompts you to shout along with a cool call-and-response section made for live performances - so learn the words before you go see them next! It's a strong start and serves as an overview of what's to come - released as a single on the 15th, if you're not convinced, you can listen to it now (below). The frantic 'Black Wings' follows. The use of chromatic riffing and an insanely cool, ascending bridge breathes a real sense of death/thrash into the song, making it one of the more memorable tracks. As the bridge evolves in the context of 'Black Wings' and Elimination sprinkle the odd blastbeat and hellish guitar squeal over the top, it sounds ever more demented and nightmarish. Top work. There's still room for old-school metal melody and Priest-esque chord sequences, though, but the scarier moments make 'Black Wings' really shine.

After a cool intro reminiscent of Seasons-era Slayer for 'This Is War', Elimination settle on a mid-paced groove. Online personalities should try it out in those 'try not to headbang' challenges, but I wouldn't expect many to succeed. It's well-placed in the album's running order, after a couple of faster songs. One of their more direct numbers, with the simple-yet-effective chorus of 'blood in the trenches, blood in the streets, blood on their faces, bodies at their feet', it's sure to become a live staple. 'Price of Insanity' follows with melody and energy in abundance. A standout vocal performance from Neil is topped with an ungodly scream just before the halfway mark that would make Mille Petrozza blush. A chant of 'fight!' at the song's close is, again, proof of how well this album will go down at shows. Next up, 'Victims By Design' is a real thrash banger in every sense of the word. With a 'quick and to the point' approach, the anger, aggression and intensity doesn't falter for a second over its runtime, which is over in less than three minutes.

Elimination experiment a little with 'The Nameless City', as it comes in with a curious, scratchy introduction with voiceovers and dial-up tones. They return to more familiar territory soon enough - a verse with that old-school metal sense of melody, which by now sounds like their own, alternates with a chorus that goes into blackened stylings. A brilliant, tasteful solo plays out as Elimination go into an outro section that gleefully evokes classic At The Gates. Riffs galore, it's another banger. The wonderfully dissonant 'Blind Leading The Blind' is next, led by a groovy, mindbending main riff that's one of their best. The use of clean guitars is very effective, creating a dynamic range and a creepy atmosphere. The ten-minute 'Infernal' rounds off the album nicely; where to start with this? With lovely mellow parts and soft chord progressions scattered around more typical thrash moments, 'Infernal' feels like a classic album closer and sees them at their most ambitious. As the tempo picks up and Neil commandingly roars that 'I’m the one reborn, the master and the flame, Satan’s son, know my immortal name', you could easily believe it to be true. Yet he navigates the softer sections just as well. The guitar melodies really soar over 'Infernal', and they even use strings and a piano to add extra layers towards the very end. Elimination's control of intensity and volume is at its finest over 'Infernal'.

Echoes of the Abyss is a great effort, and gets better with every listen. It's characterised by a constant sense of melody over moments of real aggression. David and Leigh's dual guitar interplay is enviable to any partnership of six stringers. You don't find this kind of chemistry in every band. Each song has its own identity, and although Elimination's musical style quickly makes itself known, at no point does a song sound like a preceding track. There's a truckload of riffs and ideas throughout Echoes. It works best when they bring songs into exciting, unexpected new directions, sometimes with clever off-time riff ideas. Sometimes, though, Elimination fall into the trap of writing parts that sound 'too' different to what's immediately before it and occasionally a song won't sound entirely cohesive - in part due to their stop-start style used for several transitions. Even if the execution is a little rough around the edges across the course of the 43-minute album, some of these transitions can be very much effective and, well, satisfying. You quickly get the impression that predictably run songs of verses and choruses just isn't in Elimination's nature. 

More than anything, this is a set of songs made to played live and loud. Neil's choruses and chants are designed for crowd participation. There's moments to headbang, and moments to lose yourself in a sweaty moshpit. The production is sometimes muddy on Echoes of the Abyss, with levels that lose their consistency at a couple of points over the album as different elements take the lead in the mix. It doesn't, however, take anything away from Elimination, their songs, and their ever-present energy and melody. Any self-respecting thrasher should pay attention to Elimination, and take in the true power of these songs at a show next time they come around.

Blistering.

Favourite songs: Black Wings, The Nameless City

8/10

MN