ABACABB - Survivalist

Who:  ABACABB

What:  Debut (and only) full-length album of this deathcore band from the Virginia side of the DC area.

When:  January 2009

Where:  Sterling, VA

Why:   Because history is forgetting about one of the few quality releases by Sumerian Records.

Back When:  I previously wrote about Survivalist back in March 2009 when the album was a new release. Click here to read the original review.

[The Radness Average (or star rating) is derived from assigning each song a number of stars based on a 1-5 scale, then adding the total number of stars, and then dividing that number of total stars by the number of songs on the record. A Radness Average of 4.0 or higher indicates a good or great record. A Radness Average of 2.0 or less indicates pure crap. Everything else is in the middle somewhere.]

ABACABB - Survivalist - Sumerian Records

1.  Introduction -- ****
2.  Infection -- *****
3.  Addiction -- *****
4.  Regression -- *****
5.  Survivalist -- *****
6.  Destruction - *****
7.  Articulation -- ****
8.  Devastation -- ****
9.  Rejection -- *****
10.  Isolation -- *****


Radness Average:  4.700


ABACABB - Survivalist
ABACABB - Survivalist (ZS)

Verdict:  It may not be the most technical or original record ever made but Survivalist is aging well and doesn't sound miserably dated.

For fans of:  The Acacia Strain, Emmure, Upon A Burning Body, Deadwater Drowning




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ABACABB - Demos

Ever since hearing the ridiculously-awesome Survivalist LP, ABACABB is mandatory listening for me. I really dig what these guys are doing sound-wise and I just dig it as a fan. As I've explained elsewhere in this blog, the deathcore trend is pretty stupid but some quality bands have emerged from it and ABACABB is one of them. They play doomy nu-metal grind or, in other words, Slipknot meets Napalm Death. Here are the ABACABB demos, all made prior to the band's signing with Sumerian Records.

ABACABB
2004 Demo



ABACABB's 2004 demo is obviously the recording that sounds least like Survivalist, but it features several arching characteristics of the ABACABB sound. The breakdowns, the Fear Factory riffs and the love of the movie PI are all here. However, of the three demos, this one sounds the most like a typical death/grind recording. Fortunately, it doesn't sound like a typical death/grind demo. The sound quality is outstanding.




ABACABB - 2004 Demo




ABACABB
2006 Demo



Both songs from the 2006 Demo, "Devastation and Demise" and "Articulation" appeared on Survivalist. Neither sound drastically different. This is the first appearance of the ABACABB I know and love. It's good to see a young band taking their time to craft the songs.



ABACABB - 2006 Demo




ABACABB
2008 Demo



The 2008 Demo features "Destruction", which is my favorite song on Survivalist, minus the title track "Survivalist." My favorite is definitely one of the two. Anyway, the demo's other song "Regression" also appeared on Survivalist. The time ABACABB spent molding their LP is evident in all of these demo. This is no chump band. I'm very impressed with ABACABB and I can't wait to hear what's next.



ABACABB - 2008 Demo




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ABACABB – Survivalist

ABACABB
Survivalist
Sumerian

On the first spin, Survivalist sounds like more deathcore idiocy. Upon closer inspection, ABACABB is a band breaking out of its deathcore shell and moving in a different direction. Survivalist, the band’s debut full-length, does fall into some of the deathcore trappings like too many breakdowns and overuse of the Suffocation blastbeat.

ABACABB shines when they play technical metalcore. The more rocking and complex riffs on the album sound like early Fear Factory fronted by Ray Mazzola of Full Blown Chaos. When ABACABB plays like this, those dumbass, noodly, scale-run-through, Guitar Hero riffs magically disappear. Now if they would just disappear entirely. The point is that Survivalist is an above-average deathcore album from a band that will (hopefully) get better with time. File this under “The next album is going to rule.” This one is good too.

Also, the band’s name (pronounced Ab-a-cabb) was the blood code on Mortal Kombat for the Sega Genesis.




ABACABB - Survivalist




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