{"id":43177,"date":"2016-02-16T15:00:27","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T21:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=43177"},"modified":"2016-02-16T13:01:04","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T19:01:04","slug":"you-send-me-things-i-listen-to-them-abacus-and-bathe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/you-send-me-things-i-listen-to-them-abacus-and-bathe\/","title":{"rendered":"You Send Me Things, I Listen to Them – Abacus and Bathe"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Do you like powerviolence? Do you like sludge? Do you want a bloody Reese’s cup composed of two great, horrible tastes that go great together? Well then, have I got a treat for you.<\/p>\n

After seeing my previous entry<\/a> of this series detailing the impressive and shamanic\u00a0God Root<\/strong>, Alex Strickland, vocalist extraordinaire, reached out to me to see if we’d be interested in covering his two excellent bands,\u00a0Abacus<\/strong> and\u00a0Bathe<\/strong>. And boy howdy am I interested. The two acts, despite sharing Strickland, are unique enough to give their own coverage, so hopefully everyone here will find something to enjoy.<\/p>\n

__________<\/p>\n

Abacus<\/strong> –\u00a0En Theory<\/em><\/p>\n

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If you’re more of a chocolate (powerviolence, in the case of this metaphor; work with me) guy or gal, Abacus may be your preferred taste.\u00a0En Theory<\/em> is a monstrous exercise in inhuman aggression. From the very first track, as the jangly, almost loose chords bounce off the frantic drums, it becomes very obvious that this album is the product of four beating hearts filled to the brim with hatred and wrath. Each subsequent track is a pummeling bar-brawl of flying chairs, broken bottles, and wrecked instruments. Guitarist Josh Bumgarner and drummer Paul Huff\u00a0are likely to be your focal points during this whirling dervish of sweat and blood; Bumgarner is unrelenting in his use of double-edge riffs that never stop skinning listeners. Despite flagrant use of power chords, the guitar work on display is actually deceptively complex. At various key junctures in the album’s development, Bumgarner dials back the aggression to lay down atmospheric riffs that almost evoke some of Chuck Schuldiner’s more pensive guitar lines before diving into subtle snares of delay, dissonance, and reverb that leave you perpetually disoriented. These switch-ups are actually a key to the nastiness of the album, allowing brief moments of reprieve that only render you more vulnerable to the next battering. Contrasting Bumgarner’s dynamics is Huff’s impulsive, unremitting percussive assault that often sounds like a barrage of bone and sinew making a wet cacophony as the pieces of human debris smack and slap across the guitar’s sinuous chords.<\/p>\n

Strickland and bassist Kevin Scruggs\u00a0add a much needed depth and closure to the violent interplay between guitar and drums. Scruggs’s bass lines are never overstated, but the little drops, breakdowns, and flourishes definitely add that last bit of punch to the lower-end of the music, like a hefty pair of brass knuckles added to a Mike Tyson right hook. Altogether, the instrument work on this album is exhausting and remorseless, giving you black eye after broken rib after crushed sternum;\u00a0En Theory<\/em> is a taxing listen, in truth, but it remains captivating throughout as Strickland rises above the maelstrom like a deranged circus ringleader, conducting the symphony of carnage with his manic shrieks and utterly spiteful shouts. His vocals\u00a0may rarely exceed standard hardcore affair, but they always sound professional, and combined with the music, are\u00a0wholly impressive and disarming. Simply put,\u00a0En Theory<\/em> is a violent listen that will undoubtedly whip you into a cubicle-crushing fury.<\/p>\n