If anyone thought 2022 was starting off slow in terms of the amount of strong new releases, Assumption comes bursting out of the nightmarish void to capture your attention by pulling you into a mind altering realm of punishing extreme sounding creativity with their new album, “Hadean Tides.” This death doom band from Italy has proven over the years that they do not wish to simply make stereotypical sounding extreme metal music, and instead sets their sights on exploring instrumental arrangements that leave listeners feel as though they are being pulled through a gateway into a inhuman hellish dimension.
I have been following this band since they released, “The Three Appearances,” back in 2014 and they have really become an act that understands how to write behemoth sounding albums. The ability to compose such monumental landscapes that deviate from some of techniques used by most modern death metal bands, definitely helps Assumption standout from the rest of the bands around. Working with Sentient Ruin and Everlasting Spew, two exceptional extreme music labels, Assumption is focused on unleashing a decimating and mesmerizing release that will instantly hook listeners. The album is extremely dynamic and you are left in sheer amazement as the band journeys into this explosive, yet sinisterly hallucinogenic sounding world.
The start of the album definitely reminded me of previous works by Assumption, and the band holds nothing back as they introduce listeners to their cataclysmic sounding world with the first track, “Oration.” You feel completely overwhelmed by the juggernaut sized drum parts that are followed up by some monstrous sounding guitar riffs. Everything about this band’s artistic vision is precise and presented with a malevolent confidence to drag listeners down into this unholy dominion. On the second track, “Submerged by Hadean Tides,” the guitar playing had me listening with great interest from the start of the song until the very end. The band’s unconventional approach to composing by starting out with a very slow and ominous sounding riff and then transitioning into that blistering old school death metal style, is perfectly recorded to create such a profound atmosphere.
Throughout the album I continued to recognize how this band is extremely talented when building up an arrangement and not getting carried away with frivolous sounding technical riffs. The vocals, the guitar playing and the drumming all sound tight and establish this colossal wall of distorted destruction. On the track, “Breath of the Dedalus,” the band ventures into this insidious sounding cinematic world to create ambience one might expect to be used in a horror film. Similar to what I have heard from this band in the past, they are masters at composing ominous and surreal sounding atmospheres.
One track that I felt ventured into a more hypnotic direction was, “Triptych.” At first I thought that the band OM had somehow contributed a song to the album, as the vocal delivery reminded me of how Al Cisneros sounds on all those Om releases. The song was a bit of a head scratcher when I first heard it, but after a few listens I started feel as though that this might be the best song off of the album. The song may be an anomaly compared to the previous songs, however, I find that it plays a significant role looking back at this entire album. Assumption creates a world of true unpredictability, allowing listeners to experience a plethora of haunting and surreal sounding moments.
“Hadean Tides,” in my opinion is an album that brings together a variety of elements and reaffirms my respect for this band. I believe fans will recognize similar musical themes that have been explored in previous releases, as well as some unique variations to what one might expect. Also, the metal world should definitely take notice of this band, because the skillful musicianship and songwriting talents are something that I personally find to be lacking amongst young modern metal bands. Assumption is not writing sloppy riffs and recording their drums in such a manner that you wonder if the band was huffing paint during the recording of the album. In the end, this band continues to show a relentless drive and will hopefully keep pushing the boundaries of extreme music on future releases.
Check out the song "Submerged by Hadean Tides" :
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