UMUR "Bewitched" is a single release by US, Los Angeles, California based death metal act Abysmal Dawn. The single was released through Season of Mist, and made available for free as a flexi disc single in June 2020 where it came free with the New Noise Issue 52 magazine. The track was subsequently included as one of four tracks on Abysmal Dawn´s February 2022 "Nightmare Frontier" EP.

"Bewitched" is a cover of the Candlemass song from their 1987 "Nightfall" album. Abysmal Dawn usually play a technically skilled type of US death metal (somewhere between Morbid Angel And Death), but they opted to cover "Bewitched" in a relatively true to the original version. lead vocalist/guitarist Charles Elliott even imitates Messiah Marcolin´s semi-operatic clean singing, which is so convincing that I was actually in doubt if it was the Swedish singer himself who guests on the track. The death grows are only used as backing vocals on certain sections of the song.

"Bewitched" is an ultra heavy doom metal song featuring an epic atmosphere, and Abysmal Dawn pull it off covering the track pretty well. There´s nothing groundbreaking or particularly interesting about the cover other than it sounds good and the playing and the production are of a good quality, so it´s not a cover where Abysmal Dawn put much of their own spin on the composition. For what it is, it´s still a good quality single and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Nightmare Frontier" is an EP release by US, Los Angeles, California based death metal act Abysmal Dawn. The EP was released through Season of Mist in February 2022. It´s the successor to the band´s fifth full-length studio album "Phylogenesis" from April 2020. The quartet lineup who recorded "Phylogenesis" (2020) is intact on "Nightmare Frontier".

"Nightmare Frontier" features four tracks and a total playing time of 19:18 minutes. "A Nightmare Slain" is a new original composition, "Blacken the Sky" is a re-recording of the track which initially appeared on the band´s 2004 demo and subsequently on their 2006 debut full-length studio album "From Ashes". The two remaining tracks are cover songs of In Flames and Candlemass. The two original compositions are in the trademark Abysmal Dawn technically well played US death metal style, so there´s little new there. "Behind Space" (the In Flames cover) is decent but nothing special, but "Bewitched" (the Candlemass cover) is a bit more remarkable. Not that it gives the original a run for the money...but because lead vocalist/guitarist Charles Elliott, who normally only performs death metal growling, has suddenly turned into Messiah Marcolin, and sings clean vocals which is an almost one to one imitation of the Swedish singer. Abysmal Dawn´s cover of "Bewitched" was previously released as a flexi disc single in June 2020 and came free with the New Noise Issue 52 magazine.

So upon conclusion "Nightmare Frontier" features two familiar sounding death metal tracks, one decent but not remarkable In Flames cover, and an interesting but not exceptional Candlemass cover. The whole thing is packed in a powerful, detailed and well sounding production, so a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.

UMUR "Phylogenesis" is the 5th full-length studio album by US, Los Angeles, California based death metal act Abysmal Dawn. The album was released through Season of Mist in April 2020. It´s the successor to "Obsolescence" from 2014 and features two lineup changes since the predecessor as drummer Scott Fuller has been replaced by James Coppolino and guitarist Andy Nelson has been replaced by Vito Petroni.

The material on "Phylogenesis" continue the technically well played death metal style of the band´s previous releases. Lead vocalist/guitarist Andy Nelson performs both higher pitched aggressive vocals, throaty raw vocals, and deeper growling vocals, so the vocal part of the music is relatively varied. Nelson´s performance is good, but he is not a standout vocalist, you´ll be able to instantly recognise. The instrumental part of the music features sharp and brutal death/thrashy riffing, well played guitar solos, powerful precision drumming, and decent variation between faster- and mid-paced sections.

"Phylogenesis" also features a professional, powerful, and well sounding production job, and all in all "Phylogenesis" is a high quality US death metal release. You can put checkmarks on almost anything on the album and say that it´s quality features, but I´m still not fully satisfied with the album, and it has a lot to do with the songwriting. Upon initial listens "Phylogenesis" appears to be a great album, but on further listens it becomes apparent that the songs aren´t that memorable, and that the riffs are rather generic and lacks memorability too. It´s not bad quality songwriting, but it´s pretty generic and lacks memorable hooks. It´s how I remember their previous efforts too. Highly professional and very well played releases, but lacking memorable moments and a distinct musical identity. I have been forgiving in the past, but this time I´m stretching giving a 3.5 star (70%) rating.

Nightfly Phylogenesis is the fifth album from USA death metallers Abysmal Dawn, their first being From Ashes back in 2006. They’ve been pretty consistent from day one releasing quality albums of technically well played death metal, adopting the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it approach with each album sounding quite similar. Perhaps for that reason they don’t seem to have such a high profile as some of their peers.

Hardly surprising then that once again on Phylogenesis they stick to their tried and trusted template. That’s no bad thing though as they always deliver a quality release. As before the songs are busy, complex and generally fast with no shortage of great guitar work and plenty of breakneck pace double kick drums and blast beats interspersed with fast fills. What it ultimately boils down to is the quality of the riffs that might make one album slightly better than another. Whilst I think the band hit a peak on 2014’s Obsolescence, Phylogenesis is not far behind with a consistent collection of songs that are entertaining throughout. It’s not a constant barrage of breakneck speed though as although that’s their stock in trade they break it up with slower sections where they’ll lock into a groove for a while backed by a powerful and compelling riff.

Another top quality death metal release then from Abysmal Dawn. If you already like them then I’m pretty confident you’ll enjoy this one too, if you don’t then this is not going to change your mind. For me though, if they continue to release albums of this quality I’ll keep buying them.

UMUR "Programmed to Consume" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, California based death metal act Abysmal Dawn. The album was released through Relapse Records in May 2008. Abysmal Dawn were formed in late 2003 and released a well received demo in 2004 before signing to Crash Music Inc. for the release of their debut full-length studio album "From Ashes (2006)". From there they gained the attention of Relapse Records, who signed them for a multible album deal. There´s been one lineup change since "From Ashes (2006)" as Michael Cosio has been hired as a permanent solution for the bassist position replacing session player Mike Bear.

The music on the album pretty much continues down the same technically well played death metal path which was initiated on "From Ashes (2006)". There are few signs of development, but as the music on the debut album was more or less an effective and well played package, the band probably didn´t feel the need to change a winning formula. That also means that the issue I had with the debut album and it´s lack of originality is also an issue on "Programmed to Consume". Abysmal Dawn write and play well sounding and instantly enjoyable death metal, but the material is generally not that memorable after the album is over. And that has a lot to do with the band lacking a personal sound.

"Programmed to Consume" is well produced (slightly more raw sounding than the debut, which suits the band´s music well), and overall it´s another quality death metal release by Abysmal Dawn. So if you enjoy technically well played US death metal, "Programmed to Consume" is a recommendable release. I still think Abysmal Dawn lack the defining songwriting skills to make them stand out in the genre, but other than that "Programmed to Consume" is a great quality release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.