USBM trio Abhoria take a bleak view of the present and future on their eponymous debut. Building on a foundation of ’90s black metal, Abhoria’s new album is, generally, brutal and unsparing, both musically and lyrically, focusing on the darker side of humanity: con artists, religious zealotry, people hunted for sport.
By the time the listener makes it to the album’s final track, “Sunless,” the mood has been firmly set. The closing track switches things up slightly, easing off the blast beats and discordant harmonies for something atmospheric. Abhoria let their chords breathe more, setting a mood that still revels in the darkness of humanity’s failures—not unlike Satyricon’s divisive fourth album, Rebel Extravaganza–but allows room for clean singing and brighter melody. That isn’t to say “Sunless” isn’t miserable; it’s just a different flavor of it.
“While the majority of our debut album is primarily rooted in aggressive black metal, ‘Sunless’ closes things on a more epic note,” explains guitarist Vor. “This track was written to evoke the hopelessness of the dystopian landscape on which the album is built. I feel like ‘Sunless’ goes hand in hand with Adam Burke’s cover art: you can imagine desperate people slogging through an unrelenting wasteland in the vain hope that they’ll find salvation.”
Abhoria is out February 4 via Prosthetic but Decibel is hosting the video for “Sunless” below.
