This non-method has taken awesome shape on Phylogenesis, Abysmal Dawn’s upcoming fifth full-length album. Frantic yet brooding, powered by both swing and speed, the record is agile in its movement between full-on technical death metal and more misanthropic-yet-listenable moments. Tracks like Hedonistic and Soul-Sick Nation bristle with fury and precision, but it’s in their convulsing breakdowns that the songs truly shine. It makes sense that it took the band six years to get this one out -- and according to Charles, it wouldn’t have been as good if it hadn’t come out when it did.
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“I think having a new lineup with people that wanted to be here was the biggest inspiration, honestly,” he says. “When you play with your brothers and not a bunch of business partners, it makes a difference. There's the business of course, but if you don't get along with the people you're in a band with, you might as well just work nine to five. Music is supposed to be fun. A band should be a brotherhood first and a business second. Between finding the joy of being in a band again and having a lot of pent up life frustration, I think we were able to create something special. I don't like putting out records unless they're some sort of improvement, at least to me, in some way. So we put them out on our own time.”
Coming out the other side of the musical meat grinder, we asked Charles what pushes Abysmal Dawn to bloody the waters so impressively.
1) If you had to play a newcomer one Abysmal Dawn track to introduce them to the band, what would it be and why?
That's a tough one. It would probably be between Inanimate and In Service of Time. Those are probably our two most popular songs and they're more on the groove-oriented heavy side of the band's sound. Probably In Service of Time, though. Lyrically, it's probably one of my proudest moments, and I always catch the crowd singing that one back to me. I think it runs the gamut of what we do musically too. There are some blast and slightly tech parts, along with more melodic riffs and breakdown type parts. If I had to go with a newer track, though, it would be Coerced Evolution. That's like In Service of Time on crack.