ABACABB, Survivalist

For those of you old enough to remember, or “retro” enough to still be playing on a Sega Genesis, you may be familiar with A-B-A-C-A-B-B. Me, I was more of a Bill Walsh College Football guy myself, but I had heard rumors of a code for more blood on the Motal Kombat series of games in that same timeframe. Besides the gimmicky name and track listing, ABACABB really doesn’t have much more to offer beyond a predictable, bludgeoning chug-chug-blast-blast-chug pattern. And you know what, I’m cool with that.

Survivalist isn’t a revolutionary album by any means. There’s little variety between tracks. The vocals are raw, somewhat guttural and completely pissed-the-fuck-off. The guitars have a great tone to them and never let up for a moment, while the rhythms section shift from pile driving blasts to massive breakdowns quickly and rapidly.

Sometimes, that’s all you want out of an album — something so mindless and barbaric that you can’t help but feel jacked up after only a few tracks, even if it’s just to go out and mow the yard.

Introduction
“Introduction” is just that, a segway to the first track. It’s got a sound clip from the movie Pi and some ambient, industrial noise.

Infection
“Infection” gets us off to a raucous start with driving guitars and rapid fire drums before settling into a thick chugging rhythm. The vocals are reminiscent of those from the frontman of Full Blown Chaos — at least those from the early albums. There’s plenty of aggressive, pissed-off adrenaline pumping mosh to this one.

Addiction
This next track has a bit more of a chaotic start before settling into the chugging rhythm that we quickly become accustomed to. The layered vocals add a bit of a change-up to help the track stand out a bit, as do the guitar squeals and varied tempo shifts. But still, this one is all about the massive riffs and rib shattering drum blasts. I’m sure to be coughing up blood by the half way point of the album.

Regression
A few rapid fire blasts from the drums get this next one underway. It’s got a bit of a slower pace, yet is still pretty damned bludgeoning with massive riffs and slightly spastic tempo shifts. The breakdown before the one minute mark is thick as hell. The chorus will have you shouting/grunting along in a flurry of pumping fists and snapping necks.

Survivalist
The only non “-tion” named song on the album serves as the title track, as well. It gets off to a violent start after a brief fade in and sound clip. Chugging riffs and thick rhythms mix into a furious attack as guttural vocals shout out the band’s mantra. This track is definitely a stand out, not only for the song title, but also for the unbridled aggression it delivers.

Destruction
Thundering drums and driving guitars get this one off to a rapid start. Finally, we hear a little variety in the vocals. I’m not sure if it’s from the frontman or another member of the band, but the higher end shrieks are a definite plus in my book and could have been used more often throughout the album.

Articulation
Even after hearing it a few times already, I’m digging the rapid fire blast that opens up “Articulation.” After a brief bit of chaos, the guys settle into a bruising pace that hits harder than most of the album. Thick rhythms and riffing will have you punching yourself upside the head just because you have to hit something after listening to this one. More of the higher end vocals make an appearance, as well, though it may be too late to overcome the predictable nature of the preceding songs.

Devastation
After some nice guitar hits we find ourselves bludgeoning along with burly riffs and monolithic moshing. The random guitar squeals that punctuate this track are its saving grace. That all said, I’m into the breakdown to rapid fire blast that ends the song.

Rejection
“Rejection” must have known what I was going to write about the previous track long before I did. It’ hits quickly and rapidly with barbaric drumming and one hell of an angry break down around the one minute mark. The latter half of this track is some of the best stuff on the album — make sure you stick around for it.

Isolation
The final track on the album transitions in smoothly from the previous track while building up steam with thick guitars and steady drum work. This final, instrumental based track really shows there’s so much more to what these guys can do than the animalistic beatdown that the previous 8 tracks have delivered.

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Favorite Tracks:
All of them

Additional Notes:
N/A