US death/doom metal outfit Abyssal Rift are preparing to reshape the genre’s most suffocating and destructive dimensions with their new album. While maintaining the band’s signature approach of merging decayed atmospheres with crushing riff architecture, this time they stand out through a more detailed and layered songwriting mentality.

Throughout the new record, the aggressive character of death metal intertwines naturally with doom metal’s oppressive and bleak weight. Tempo shifts, dense atmospheric transitions, and darkly constructed compositions dominate the album, while the band continuously keeps the listener under pressure through especially pulverizing riff tones and a suffocating sense of tension. With occasional industrial touches surfacing across the material, the album expands the classic death/doom formula through a modern and cinematic perspective.

Featuring Matt Auxier handling guitars, vocals, and synths; Mike Sliclen on bass and vocals; and Brandon Smith on drums and percussion, the band also aims to establish an intensely immersive atmosphere on the production front. The direct involvement of the members in the album artwork and visual aspects further strengthens the project’s cohesive dark aesthetic.

Consisting of six tracks in total, the album includes standout titles such as “The Death of God,” “Surrealistic Visions,” and “Sphere of Perpetuity.” For listeners drawn to the lineage of Incantation, Disembowelment, and Cruciamentum, it would hardly come as a surprise to see this record emerge as one of the year’s heaviest and darkest death/doom releases.

Inline image

Track listing

1. Consummate Design
2. Relics of Great Ash
3. The Enlightenment (There Was Never Will)
4. The Death of God
5. Surrealistic Visions
6. Sphere of Perpetuity

Official Site

Abyssal Rift Bandcamp

Europe Store

New US Store

Abyssal Rift Facebook

Abyssal Rift Instagram