ABRAHAM

I've always felt that the name a band chooses for itself is important. A misjudged name can spell disaster, and ultimately cause a group of musicians to wonder why their fan base is non-existent. 'Alestorm' are a good example for me. I know nothing of their music, apart from the alleged pirate influence, but the name makes me not want to hear it anyway; it whiffs of childish comedy. So, having once been known as 'Le Baron Vampire', these Swiss guys decided a new name was important for some reason. And, lo, Abraham was born. Who knows why though; Abraham is just a little too much like following the three-syllable trend of progressive sludge acts Mastodon, Baroness et al. No matter, I guess, but I'm a sucker for a decent name, and I feel they've let one go. Anyway, that's half of the review done and you don't even know what I think of the damn thing yet. Well, it sounds huge, sludgy, and melodic at times. It's superbly played and well produced - managing to sound retro while maintaining a modern polish. But, it's really nothing new. They've tried to balance intelligent song-writing with brutal head-banging, and it doesn't quite work. When the moments come for you to bang your head, it's ruined by angular mathcore antics that, whilst great on their own, only serve to destroy the flow. Music can ebb and flow of course but, while rollercoasters are fun, this is just a series of sharp twists and turns that will make you reach for the paper bag. Maybe that's harsh, but there are literally shit loads of bands that do this stuff just as good/bad and there's nothing that Abraham do to make you buy this over anything else.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Pelagic Records

Album

AN EYE ON THE UNIVERSE

Review by Steve Cowan

RUNNING TIME:

44:21

RELEASE DATE:

28th Feb 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) Coyote Versus Machete
2) Saloon Bizarre
3) Astro Zombies
4) The Statues
5) Bullet Dozer
6) Herz, Knie, Staub
7) Hellsinki
8) Baruch

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Switzerland

"They've tried to balance intelligent song-writing with brutal head-banging, and it doesn't quite work."