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Abruptum > De Profundis Mors Vas Cousumet > Reviews
Abruptum - De Profundis Mors Vas Cousumet

Likeable introduction to eccentric Swedish band - 65%

NausikaDalazBlindaz, January 10th, 2012

This mini-album which consists of 3 tracks totalling 16-plus minutes probably isn't typical of Abruptum's style and the band might have released much better music in its 1990s heyday but it's a likeable introduction to the band. The main highlight here is the 8-minute opus "Dodsapparaten", an extremely noisy whirlwind affair closer to classic noise music than black metal and very painful on the ears. Think of the Japanese project Merzbow before it went digital or those noiseniks Hijokaidan, also from Japan, and you have a fair idea of how far from black metal, even Abruptum's bizarre take on the music, the track really is. A church bell chimes maddeningly throughout the track and somewhere in the sonic hurricane, you'll swear you can hear the sounds of someone being tortured: a pretty likely scenario with a band like Abruptum who had a reputation for dishing out punishment to vocalist IT to make him scream during recording sessions.

The title track is relatively safe black metal territory for those people who want a bit more melody and structure if only so they know how much of the CD they have to hear before the toilet break. The screaming can be pretty distressing.

At least the good thing about this EP is a nutty sense of humour spread out over the three tracks which saves the work as a whole from sounding too silly or campy.

This review is adapted from a review I originally wrote for The Sound Projector (Issue 13) in 2005.

Agony and Pain screams to get Scared - 100%

Verminswallower, August 13th, 2011

Abruptum's EP is one and only. A really raw and noisy recording which shows a good and evil black metal. 2 instrumental songs that shows pure raw noise and 1 song that is gonna get you scared to death.

First track "De Profundis Mors Vas Cousumet" starts with a keyboard intro, making it seems really innocent, until the guitars starts to sound, an then comes the most terrifying demon scream I have ever heard in a song (if you wanna start listening black metal, do not start listening to this, or you're gonna shit your pants with the scream). Then starts the dark singing, to show another scream, more clear but more painful. The combination of the slow drums with the screams creates an ambient of pure torture, getting back again to the singing, and once more comes a demon scream which seem to be saying "SATAN!" over and over again, to say it once more and turn the scream into an agonic scream, and then the keyboards starts again. When they end, the guitars and drums starts to sound again, along with a bell and the dark voice singing again, to show the last agonic scream of the song and end it with keyboards. The following tracks "Dödsapparaten" and "Massdöd" are almost 11 minutes of good and raw instrumental black metal.

Now, here is the question that has bothered all of those who hear Abruptum: Do the really tortured themselves during the recordings to make those terrible screams? I don't know. If they really tortured to make those screams, I don't wanna know what they used to do it. And most people think the same, for those screams are very hard to do if you're not in pain or being tortured.

Despite the horrible raw sound of the tracks and the traumatic screams, I recomend this band to everyone who likes a good and old black metal, and I warn you again: If you're afraid of ghosts and monsters, you're gonna shit your pants with every scream.