Hypertension Records returns with the second installment from their The Abyss Stares Back series, and this split compilation features the Denver sludge metal trio Primitive Man, teamed up with Belgium’s power metal quartet Hessian. Formed in 2012, Primitive Man‘s current line-up includes guitarist/vocalist Ethan Lee McCarthy, bassist Jonathan Campos, and drummer Isidro Soto, and “Unable” was recorded by Dave Otero at his studio, Flatline Audio in Colorado. This apocalyptic track unleashes a particularly vicious strain of icy sludge, and it’s built around massive blasts of powerful low end, as well as McCarthy’s guttural bellows of black fog.
For their part, the Belgian four-piece Hessian unleash a paranoid maelstrom on their monumental cut “Inward Dawn“. Recorded at Hearse studios by Lander Cluysse, and mastered by Audiosiege, the 11-minute track begins with a particularly gargantuan form of grunge martialling the forces of funerary doom around singer Bram Coussement‘s obliterating vocals; until, about half way in, the track transitions into a slow-burning free-fall of rumbling of drums, face melting guitar bliss, and deep, mantric vocals!
The Abyss Stares Back #2 will be released as a one time printing, in a limited edition of 500 on 180 gram vinyl, and box-set versions will ship on clear vinyl. The release date is June 30th.
