WOE

"Woe" is the second full-length studio album by Swedish progressive death metal act An Abstract Illusion. The album was released in September 2022 through Willowtip Records. It´s the successor to the July 2016 "Illuminate The Path" debut album. Both "Illuminate The Path" and the August 2014 "Atonement Is Nigh" EP were independent releases, so "Woe" is An Abstract Illusion´s first label release. "Woe" is a concept release consisting of one hour long track divided into seven sub-tracks.

The first thing I notice when listening to "Woe" is that An Abstract Illusion have increased the death metal brutality compared to the preceding releases and "Woe" is by far their most heavy, brutal, and raw release yet. That doesn´t mean they have shed any of the progressive rock/metal elements of the past, but to my ears a better balance exists on "Woe" between the death metal elements and the atmospheric and epic sounding progressive metal sections. The vocals still vary between death metal growling and clean male vocals. The keyboards have a dominant role in the soundscape but again they aren´t quite as dominant as they were on earlier releases, and An Abstract Illusion seem to have gained the knowledge that less is more and that epic keyboard chords and piano runs just work better when they aren´t being used all the time.

"Woe" features a powerful, heavy, and detailed sound production. It´s in the more polished end of the production spectrum when it comes to death metal productions, but for this type of music a multi-layered, professional, and clear sounding production is just what is needed. While six years may be a few years too long between albums, I´m happy to report that An Abstract Illusion have spend every second of those six years honing their skills as composers and writing an intriguing and varied progressive death metal album. This is a nice step forward for the band although not everything is perfect here. The 11:33 minutes long atmospheric "Tear Down This Holy Mountain" is for example a bit too ambient and uneventful for longer parts of the track, but overall An Abstract Illusion have struck gold here and fans of atmospheric/melodic progressive death metal are recommended giving this album a listen. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

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