Abest - Molten Husk

Angry Metal Guy 80

Molten Husk is an album built on a balance of synchrony and glitches, a duel of cohesive riffs and splattering experimentation. We embark on a journey with Abest, witnessing this dichotomy and wondering what the hell we do with its lesson. As the journey dwindles to its final moments, Molten Husk fully succumbs to the chaos. A corrosive and unforgiving beast, whose growls are abruptly interrupted by a spare moment of humanity in the haunting “Possessor,” it pummels and unnerves in a soundtrack of breathing darkness. But this is no black metal, though it makes sporadic appearances. This is not death metal, although listeners may be reminded of it. Although based in sludge, density is eschewed for a palpable crunch instead of earth-shaking weight. At the end of Molten Husk, Abest will challenge what you think about post-metal.

While the mammoth weight we’ve come to appreciate in post-metal is present, German trio Abest reinterprets it in third full-length Molten Husk. While genre hallmarks sludge weight and sprawling atmospheric passages make sporadic appearances, the sound is far more nimble and fluid than the Panopticons and Through Silver in Bloods of the world. Weaving otherworldly dissonance, hardcore energy, groove, and touches of black metal and ambiance alongside their forward-thinking songwriting and Robin Staps-esque vocals, Molten Husk is not about the density of its magmatic implications, but rather the liquidity – never forsaking its unforgiving heat. One of the most intriguing post-metal releases in recent memory with plenty of highlights packed into its concise runtime, Molten Husk humbly pummels and haunts in tantalizing measure.

Abest is a unique beast, a trifecta of groove, atmosphere, and dissonance, refusing to be locked into the comparisons to Isis and Cult of Luna. Although recalling much of the post-metal greats of yesteryear and the haunting repetition of Amenra or Psychonaut, you’ll also hear the contemplative sting of Ulcerate‘s warped melodies and the full-on assault of Dyscarnate‘s kickass grooves. Built around shuddering crystalline plucking, tracks like “Through the Veins,” “The Twitched Veil,” and the title track seamlessly shift from ominous doom plodding to pummeling riffs with flourishes of scathing dissonance that writhe and squirm with filthy earworms. The promo’s “for fans of” name-drops Full of Hell, Cult Leader, and Yautja; appropriately, tracks like “Narrative Subtracted” and “Rendition of Truth” are ruthless hardcore and blackened crossovers, drums shifting from half-time punk beats and pummeling blastbeats while riffs blast with shocking organicity.

Experimentation takes the form of “Bulging Aversion” and “Into a Mirrored Hall,” wonkily composed avant-garde blasters of shifting rhythms and tempos – its motive evocative atmosphere. “Narrative Subtracted,” “The Twitched Veil,” “Bulging Aversion,” “Through the Concrete,” and “Obliteration” also conclude with brief ambient passages that hint at otherworlds without indulging in them. Although forward-thinking in their own right, experimentation takes a step up in closers “Cognitive Empathy” and the aptly named “Obliteration.” While they largely rely on the band’s trademark plodding and dissonance, they respectively take on crawling Portal-esque riffs and industrial seizures a la Full of Hell. Instrumental centerpiece “Possessor” sticks out in its abruptly beautiful sprawling palette, post-rock crescendos taking front and center, droning riffs and sanguine ambiance providing an oasis on Abest‘s journey through this desert of warped devastation. What’s further tantalizing about this trek is that it never overstays its welcome. No song exceeds 4:47 (“Rendition of Truth”) and the final runtime clocks in at thirty-two minutes – amazingly, no song feels unfleshed or lacking.

My one gripe with Molten Husk is that its sound revolves nearly entirely around vocalist/guitarist Joscha in its very forward guitar, with no activity between left and right channels or dueling guitar licks, with drummer Rezy and bassist Patrick seeing only sporadic flashes of the limelight. However, Abest‘s sound is so forward-thinking and ambitious in such a concise package that it was an afterthought as “Obliteration” closes. This trio offers writhing songwriting, punishing riffs, and an otherworldly agenda in heavy music that sticks to you like tar. Very few comparisons seem to exist¹ in this all-killer, no filler album that embraces and challenges post-metal – with a punishing dropkick into the void.



Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Moment of Collapse Records
Websites: abest.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/abestmusic
Releases Worldwide: August 19th, 2022

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