I discovered Wombbath the way many of us have gotten into old-school Swedish Death Metal in this digital age—through a Bandcamp sale! I checked out a few of their albums and decided they were worth a shot. Needless to say, Wombbath is a pinnacle of consistency. To me, all its albums sit at least at a solid 3.5/5.0. However, there are only so many times you can pull off the chainsaw trick before it chops your arms off. And Beyond the Abyss is here to prove that the band can keep juggling familiar sounds without losing a limb.
Alright, this was different. I expected more Wolverine Blues-worship from these guys, but I ran into a twist instead. And honestly, of all the bands I expected to change this year, Wombbath wasn’t one of them. So, this was a pleasant surprise. The band sounds reinvigorated, experimenting with more macabre ideas that add layers to its sound. There’s almost a gothic element to the album, but it never crosses into cringe territory. It stays subtle, mostly permeating the first half of Beyond the Abyss. Sure, the blasting and pummeling remain the band’s bread and butter, but the added details here and there help prevent monotony.
It feels weird to say this about an old-school Death Metal album, but the synths give this thing way more identity. It’s not groundbreaking, but just tweaking a few tracks makes a real difference in a genre where everyone wants to sound like Entombed and Dismember. Instead, Wombbath leans a little more toward Edge of Sanity on this one. So yes, it’s more melodic, but the aggression still reigns supreme.
Don’t despair—or maybe do—because this is still an old-school Death Metal album, and it delivers exactly what you’d expect. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s entertaining, with little to no obnoxious aspirations. Music for the Metal-working class—just something to cool off with after a grinding week at the factory (except there are no factories anymore… so, unemployment?). If you’re a veteran of this sound, you’ll get more of what you already know, plus a few perks. That’s it!
Wombbath manages to change everything and nothing with each album. I should know—I own a few of them. Though the band refuses to change drastically, one could argue: why mess with a formula that still delivers killer riffs and savage songwriting? Just like you in a casino, things look great as long as you keep winning. And so far, Beyond the Abyss is another humble win for this band.
Label: Pulverised Records
Release date: 14 March, 2025
Website: https://pulverised.bandcamp.com
Country: Sweden
Score: 3.5/5.0 as it should be
Metal Eclipse Reviews 