Pyrrhon’s much anticipated return and follow-up to 2017’s short-but-sweet “What Passes for Survival” is no less sweet than one would expect. The suffocating atmosphere of “What Passes for Survival” has been replicated on “Abscess Time,” perhaps even bettered, and this new outing swarms and churns throughout the record’s 12 songs clocking just under an hour. Any indications of progression are entirely found in the quartet’s refinement of their subjugating style, one in which nods towards technical proficiency and furious riffage and solos are fused into a chunky atmosphere. What drives Pyrrhon is their somewhat avant-garde image, which hugely complements their frighteningly experimental sound.
Pyrrhon’s blend of death and black metal is truly distinctive – rather than your typical act of blackened death, the Brooklynites aspire to aurally destroy through an unsettled and plodding flow. This flow is doubtlessly liquefied and direct for the album’s entire length, and creeps its way through your spine and head, and into your thoughts. Looking through Pyrrhon’s heavy and clouded hum, the group’s integrative and songwriting level really excels through. At first glimpse, the combination of strenuously played instruments stands out as one rock-hard knock in the face, but to pick apart the differing parts of this monstrous chunk, that is “Abscess Time,” is an arguably congenial effort.
“Abscess Time” is at first an allegedly impassable and hazy opus—for those familiar with Pyrrhon’s perspective to music it may not be so much of a chore to find the scale of its depth, but those inexperienced to the band’s deranged style should not let first hunches to affect their perception. Despite the benefits of clear production, Pyrrhon’s focus on gloom and filth gives it a hysteric sense of urgency.
The essence of “Abscess Time” calls for it to be the object of great exploration—the fulfillment this release gives will not become obvious without attentive repeated listens. Its unsettling atmosphere will not truly unsettle without the dismissal of bland presumptions regarding musical convention. With “Abscess Time,” Pyrrhon purposely crafted an album that would intentionally reject people instead of inviting them in, showing once again that they don’t need the “ordinary” to exist—they can do it on their own, eccentric and isolated terms.
9/10
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