Issued with an 8-page-booklet including lyrics and a 2-sided sheet of advertisement.
Abaddon Incarnate are a very good grindcore band, they don't do anything outside of the norm, but what they do they do well. The music is built out of all the grindcore standards, fast grinding riffs building up most of the content, almost constant harsh growled and shrieked vocals, there are some hardcore influenced midpaced riffs for flavour, blast beats piled upon other blast beats, and the odd grindcore breakdown here and there. Aside from a surprisingly high number of guitar solos, there really isn't anything new here, but at the same time, I feel that this album should attract a big fan base. This is simply due to the quality of the composition.
Cascade, while forged from all the grindcore standards we know and love, is written in a different way than most of the genre. While 17 songs are a pretty standard number of songs for a grind album, the duration of 38 minutes is not, neither is the frequent user of 2-3 minute songs. These songs are no less intense than their 30 second counterparts; they're just composed with a lot more care and skill. The riffs fly along accompanied by endless blasts and vitriolic vocals, but the band throws in passages of either slower hardcore styled riffs, or chuggier breakdown riffs to mix up the tempo. The midpaced riffs still rip at your throat mercilessly, but do it in a more memorable and catchy way reminiscent of modern Napalm Death, but with a lot more venom and traditional grind hatred. None of these changes in pace are used for more than 15-20 seconds at a time, but they're used with perfect timing and flow. In fact, while the genre typically sounds quite chaotic and out of control, this album feels composed, thought out and well, sensible. The music is arranged into actual songs here. The album doesn't feature the usual explosions of sound, it seems like the band has taken a long time actually putting this music together in ways that make sense in a traditional death metal mentality. This is grindcore for people who don't typically go for grind, yet it doesn't do it by watering down the music, or adding in elements that would appeal to a wider influence, it's all down to how Abaddon Incarnate have put this album together.
The intro, and the start of "After the Dying Time" are the only times where this band isn't in full attack mode. There are no pauses between tracks, there are no mellow intros or outros to songs, hell there are barely even any samples. And at 38 minutes, it is impossible to overpraise the bands ability to mix things up as it never gets tiring. This album leaves the listener as fresh at its conclusion as any of the countless 22 minute long albums trying to act as violent as this one is.
Of course, good composition can only get you so far; luckily, every actual musical element is of just as high of a quality. The riffs, drums and production are all up to scratch. The fast riffs are effectively visceral and energetic, and sure to cause mass brain damage within the skulls of Irish grind fans. The mid paced riffs and slower stompers are all catchy and rhythmic enough to force some very violent pits too. While the quality is consistently high, there isn't much in the way of memorability; the riffs are more or less a worthy tool to pass on aggression and energy. The most notable element of the guitar work is the solos. They function like the riffs in that they're intense as possible, the technicality levels are high enough, but they're there for added colour, rather than displays of virtuosity.
The drumming is blast heavy, with successfully heavy grooving rhythms to help the slower parts pass on the necessary headbang-ability, but he's got a few different styles and ideas to mix things up a bit, much like the riff work the drumming tends to be a weapon to make the music as violent and malevolent as needed.
The production is also of top quality; clear enough that you can hear the riffs and drums all quite well, but not too clear to neuter the brutality. Despite the clarity, the tone itself is quite dirty, the drums are quite natural, and the vocals still sound like they're coming out of a real, red raw throat. It doesn't try to be deliberately raw, and it doesn't overdo the smoothness, it is a perfect modern grindcore or death metal sound.
The big standout here is the vocals. When you've got a release totalling 38 minutes with vocals going for the vast majority, you better have yourself one hell of a growler. Luckily enough, Abaddon Incarnate have themselves a couple of A Grade vocalists. The pair only has three moves in their bag of tricks, Steve Maher’s growl, Bill Whelan’s shriek, and those used simultaneously, but it works. They don't try to force variation on with irritating pig squeals or gurgles, the band stick to what they know and the pair happens to be so good at it that nearly 40 minutes of non-stop screaming and yelling passes by like it was ten.
The elements of Cascade are nothing new, but the ways the elements are used are fresh and lively. It isn’t the most memorable album in the world, but we are talking about grindcore here, it's not exactly high art. Abaddon Incarnate's 2009 album is a wild ride which entertains with a lot more class and sensibility than most of the genre.
Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=KfkOiq_2GAw&t=229s
