Reviews : Albums : Abed, "The Coming of Soon"

Israeli sextet, Abed, debut with an EP called The Coming of Soon. The four songs on this album remind me a lot of a bewildering mix of earlier Anorexia Nervosa, Peccatum and latter-day Emperor. The band’s use of a string quartet, jazz piano and lots of changes in tempo and vocal delivery style allow for a lot of flexibility and uniqueness in songwriting, though honestly, I feel like these guys border on wankery a little too often. Don’t get me wrong, overall what Abed are doing is pretty impressive and maybe even mind-blowing if you’re way into progressive black metal, it’s just pushing on some boundaries that I don’t feel need to be tested quite so thoroughly. If you’re already curious, you’ll probably really enjoy The Coming of Soon, and if you think it sounds like a horrible quagmire of bad ideas, you need to avoid Abed already.

Standout Tracks    The Coming of Soon    ColdSmoke

Peter Johnston