In March 1993, Swedish death metal outfit WOMBBATH released their debut record Internal Caustic Torments and a promising future was predicted. Within two years, the band were no more, their tenure with Napalm Records ill-fated and producing just one EP, the underwhelming, appropriately-named Lavatory.
Two decades would pass before guitarist Håkan Stuvemark would resurrect the band with a whole new lineup and five albums have followed since across three different labels. Now, WOMBBATH have returned to the label who picked them up on their return for their seventh offering. Out on Friday, Beyond the Abyss is to be released via Indonesia’s Pulverised Records.
Of all the sub-genres that fall under the banner of ‘heavy metal’, death metal is the one with the most ‘sub-sub-genres’, from technical death to deathcore via melodic death and blackened death, and many others in between. Given WOMBBATH formed in 1990 – the same year that DEATH gave us the excellent Spiritual Healing – they unsurprisingly don’t buy into anything other than the old-school, with Beyond the Abyss marching along the familiar path of alternate picking riffs played at breakneck speeds, blast beats and low, guttural vocals.
There are areas where they do branch out a little bit, like Deep Hunger, which has the eerie tones of keyboards in the background adding a symphonic touch and A Symphony of Dread with its appropriate violin outro. For the rest of the time, however, this is fine death metal done without the frills or extras, tracks like Words Unspoken and Discord of Doom providing a throwback to the genre’s very roots.
Thing is, ‘fine’ just doesn’t cut it in the music world, certainly not in 2025. It is absolutely possible to make a no-nonsense, classic death metal record and have it stand head and shoulders above the rest, but while Beyond The Abyss is not a terrible album, it doesn’t get out of second gear. WOMBBATH are playing with an air of going through the motions and playing it safe – not so much throwing caution to the wind as shielding it from the elements with their body. There is very little that makes one sit up and take proper note; even with repeated listens it’s hard to recall anything of note aside from the aforementioned moments when the band go slightly off the beaten track. The result is a record that doesn’t take long to stagnate and, by the time Faces of Tragedy rolls around, even gets a bit boring which is arguably the worst crime that can be committed, because at least a truly awful album garners a more noticeable reaction than a shrug of the shoulders.
Make no mistake, there will always be a place for death metal that is without caveats or any hint of straying into one of its many offshoots, and a number of aficionados will welcome a new WOMBBATH record with open arms and adore it multiple times over. However, if you’re looking for something exciting and attention grabbing, you likely won’t find it with Beyond The Abyss and would be better off looking elsewhere.
Rating: 4/10
Beyond the Abyss is set for release on March 14th via Pulverised Records.
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