Absent in Body – Plague God (Review)

FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH.

You just need to look at the personell of this album to know that you’ve got something special here: Scott Kelly (Neurosis) on vocals, Mathieu Vandekerckhove (Syndrome/Amenra) on guitar, Colin H Van Eeckhout (Amenra/CHVE) on bass and vocals and Iggor Cavalera (Ex-Sepultura) handling the drum duties. Everyone in this band is an expert when it comes to bring doom and despair onto the listener.

IN SPIRIT. IN SPITE.

Upon the first hits of the drums you are throat deep into the apocalyptic sounds and songs that are laid before you. The opener almost has the feel of the musical intro to some kind of ancient doomsday / rite de passage. Things are about to go down. Scott Kelly and Colin H Van Eeckhout form a crushing vocal-duo here. Colin is also responsible for spoken word passages, that bring some relief, if you want to call it that way. Just like on the last Amenra album De Doorn those spoken word passages add a lot on the dark atmosphere and intensity here.

A DAY OF DEATH IN LIFE.

Songs like “In Spirit. In Spite” or “The Acres/The Ache” show how well this mixture of Scott Kelly’s low end growl and Colin’s screams and whispering work. Especially the second half of “In Spirit. In Spite” is one my highlights on this record. After taking a serious Sludge Metal beating, you are left with Colin’s voice and a song beautifully fading out. I could listen to this part for hours.

DISTANCE. UNWRITTEN.

“The Half Rising Man” closes this excellent album by inverting the structure of the opener “Rise from Ruins“. Starting almost ambient like it shape shifts into this ever growing storm of pounding drums and riffs. It is a trip. It is thick with atmosphere, nearly oppressive.

IN THE WAKING HOUR I AM HEAVEN SENT.

Plague God is another great example of how “super-groups” can really work out. You can hear a collective output with everyone bringing their talent to the table and crafting a collective work of art. Every fan of atmospheric Sludge Metal must have listened to this album.