Album Review: Wombbath – Beyond The Abyss (Pulverised Records)

Cult Swedish maestros Wombbath return with album number seven ‘Beyond the Abyss’, back with Pulverised Records, ten years after first working together. It will be released on March 14th, 2025.

As garishly brutal as ever, but with renewed power and drive, Wombbath make 2025 that little bit uglier with their brand-new album. A ten-track beastly effort that goes hard from the start and refuses to let up for a second, even though it comes with a healthy dollop of dark and twisted atmosphere. Case in point, the sinister intro.

That sets the scene, as far as a sense of horror goes, but it’s the following Words Unspoken that truly gets the album started. An instant hit of death and thrash metal dopamine as the five-piece throw caution to the wind by combining manic speed with diabolical heaviness, while showcasing twisted flair. It, alongside the following A Symphony of Dread, Discord of Doom, and Beyond the Abyss proves without question just why every new release from Wombbath is met with such excitement. This is more than just another extreme metal album; it is smart and varied.

How else do you explain the string instruments on A Symphony of Dread or the saxophone spot that comes on Malevolent? The latter comes from Rotpit drummer Erik Barthold and is pretty damn immense. It’s not often you can say you head banged to a track with a saxophone in it. Still pushing boundaries decades on, it’s this sort of creative thinking that helps keep them relevant.

There’s absolutely nothing to complain about in the second half of the album either. Wombbath pushing harder and heavier than ever with the crashing and smashing chaos of Faces of Tragedy. Then offering up something quite ‘cinematic’ in the form of Deep Hunger, a staggering showcase of ferocity and gothic opulence. Before going the extreme route with the explosive intensity of The Damned and the Slain. This is the sound of all parts of Wombbath pushing themselves to their limits.

It’s not quite done yet though. Not content with having delivered something very special up to this point, Wombbath get even more creative with the finale of Consumed by Fire. A measured metal approach that is as heavy as it gets but is infused with so much blackened atmosphere that it becomes so listenable. The layering of tracks like this is so impressive, but it doesn’t take away from the extreme, rather, it enhances it.

It’s another absolute beast of an album from Wombbath.

Wombbath – Beyond the Abyss Track Listing:

1. Intro
2. Words Unspoken
3. A Symphony of Dread
4. Discord of Doom
5. Beyond the Abyss
6. Malevolent
7. Faces of Tragedy
8. Deep Hunger
9. The Damned and the Slain
10. Consumed By Fire

Links

Bandcamp | Instagram | Pulverised Records