Album Review: The Abandonment - 'Ephemeral'

2 April 2010 | 8:52 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Australian release of the year ?

The Abandonment have had a tumultuous few years with a revolving door line up restricting the band from releasing new material since their 2006 debut EP Deja Desparu. Perseverance is a crucial element to any band writing exceptional songs and in this case it is found in abundance.


The final product The Abandonment have emerged with is nothing shy of a barrage of heaviness which intertwines the complexity of Adelaide lords The Rivalry with the straight forward thrash riffs of At the Gates. There are no gimmicks contained amid Ephemeral with The Wolf providing a suitable pummeling straight from the get go (isn’t it nice when a band doesn’t fuck around with a minute and a half mosh intro).


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The tracks blend seamlessly through a mixture of genres making it a difficult task to pin down the current musical direction The Abandonment is heading towards, which is one of the most exciting features of the album. “Time Destroys All Things” will impress those punters who are after the more technical aspects of The Abandonment with the quick firing times signatures boggling the mind.


I Was Not Born Richard Albert cheekily cross’ the gap between thrash with some more melodic guitar riffs most bands of this ilk would not dare to try. A Room without Light is quite possibly one the best tracks a heavy band in this country have ever produced (with the exclusion of Gloom with a View aka The Riff). The buildup is phenomenal providing an exceptional finish to a fantastic record. If you are a fan of the closing track off the Misery Signals release Mirrors this will be right up your alley


The drumming is tremendous and is something you would expect from the former In Trenches drummer Joel Taylor. The band surely would have welcomed him back with open arms as once again proven why he is one of the most respected musicians to be at the forefront of technical Australian drumming.


With this basically faultless release, The Abandonment have aligned themselves with other great Australian heavy bands like The Rivalry and A Secret Death which can only lead to a very successful 2010

1. The Wolf

2. Time Destroys All Things

3. Down River

4. Little Thousand

5. I Was Not Born Richard Alpert

6. Hubbert's Peak Part I: Blissful Abandon

7. Hubbert's Peak Part II: Holding Breath

8. Chalk Bones

9. Hikwsi

10. A Room Without Light