Today we have a lot to cut through with the most recent addition to the channel: Berlin-based Human Abyss, and its newest album Death Obsessed.

Although this quintet only goes back to 2020, it is almost entirely formed by experienced musicians who have played in bands like Spawn (death metal) or currently active No On Spoke (symphonic metal), among many other black metal acts. That gathered understanding of the several genres definitely shows on their musical output: a strong death metal base, with cutting edges black metal moments, and a subtle, at times, main conductor: melody.

Now, thematically, these lyrics hit you as hard as Gggolddd‘s This Shame Should Not Be Mine, Lingua Ignota‘s Caligula, or Ocean Of Ghost‘s I Am Awake And My Body Is On Fire. What they all have in common is the systematic gender-based violence that rules our fucked up patriarchal society. In Human Abyss‘ case, exposing the abuse and horrors (personally experienced by the band’s singer) an intersex person has to go through since they are newborn.

The widespread – and purposeful – ignorance about intersex people, leaves them helpless against a system that has them subjected as an anomaly and forces them to undergo continuous irreversible, and non-consensual mutilations, from very young, and highly invasive processes based on a “phallometer” so they can ensure a “normatively sexed body” that fits the binary scale. Those who are chosen by the doctors as females are ‘legally’ raped for years with different dildo sizes so they can be penetrable in the future. Fucking hard to digest, and this isn’t the most exhaustive (nor extensive) summary of the most subtle type of violence they go through, which we know comes hand to hand with its explicit, daily, on your face, side.

Horror themes are most often found in death metal, although with a more edgy or macho-stinking POV, and so Human Abyss has effectively incorporated the terror, pain, and the whole circle of abuse intersex people go through, into the genre.

With quite a clear inspiration from Swedish death metal, swinging from melody towards the old school sound, and incorporating very epic black metal passages. Bands like Cast The Stone or The Black Dahlia Murder might come to mind when hearing the ‘dialoguesque’ growls and shrieks displayed throughout the album. “Cut” has a third vocal addition by singer Britta Görtz, who was also in charge of the album’s production doing an impeccable job that shows quite an improvement when listening to the previous releases.

A tough but very enjoyable record from what isn’t just another death/blackened-death metal band, neither musically nor as for their message. Let their art serve as a catalyst for reflection, awareness, and action. Go, play Death Obsessed, and fuck gender very much!

 

⚔️ HUMAN ABYSS ⚔️
BC: https://humanabyss.bandcamp.com/album/death-obsessed
IG: @humanabyss_official
FB: https://www.facebook.com/HumanAbyssOfficial
YT: @humanabyss
Web: https://human-abyss.jimdosite.com/