Review by Fran on April 27, 2022.

Born from the ashes of Hermética -the most prominent latinamerican thrash metal band after Sepultura- Malón marked the evolution from the vintage 80’s sound to the digital era sound and groove-influenced composition in our region. Their Brazilian counterpart included etchnic influences to their grooves though, Malón kept the hard-rock riffing and the speed and ferocity from their Hermética days, that’s why I love them so much. Hermética’s last album (“Víctimas del Vaciamiento” from 1993) featured a modern production too, but it isn’t as inspired and powerful as the consecutive couple of Malón’s registers. Nineteen years later, they released this album named Nuevo Orden Mundial... I find a much more mature band here, but the energy and authenticity is intact.

The thrashing beat is still raging in these twelve tracks, some of them are fast numbers like most of Malón classics but most of them are a little bit slower and mid-tempo; epic songs though. 'Nuevo Orden Mundial', the record opener, 'Recordar Para No Olvidar' and 'Triste Final' have the most of those fast paced sections. These fast bullets sound fresh and are well coined but, as time goes by and musicians grow old they find that music as a means of expression is very dynamic; you have to portray exactly how you feel in a particular moment and none feels exactly the same as twenty years before, that’s for sure. That’s why I think the band feels more comfortable with a heavier mid-paced riffing style, the rest of the cuts dwell between that traditional heavy metal beat and heavy breakdowns. 'Deshacer El Mundo' is a cover from spanish rock band Héroes Del Silencio. While it isn’t an exact copy from the original version, they kept the main chords and played them way heavier, in Malón’s fashion. The last track 'Una Luz' is actually a power ballad, sung by the band’s guitarist, Tano Romano, and features acoustic verses and melodic leads that are not to be found on any of the other songs.

Pato Strunz, the band’s longtime drummer, sounds in perfect shape. Double bass drum parts sound simply amazing, the cymbal work is world class and so are his drum breaks. Bassist Karlos Cuadrado plays simple bass lines along with the riffs and displays a rich tone with a slight distortion and the trademark “pick” sound. El Tano Romano’s composition signature is unique and unforgettable, present on every song. His leads are a masterclass of soloing and as I said before, he occasionally collaborates with some of the vocals. Claudio O’Connor, the band’s vocalist, has a high pitched and raspy tone. He doesn’t sound as potent as he did in the early days; his falsettos aren’t as long but he still manages to deliver the lyrics convincingly, with anger. Lyrically, the band deals with social issues… in fact, a couple of days ago on March the 24th, Argentinians commemorate the victims from the dictatorship that scourged the country from 1976 to 1983 and I think those lyrics fit pretty well within that concept.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Rosh on November 26, 2023.

The Finnish death metal scene is altogether quite overlooked, and this might have something to do with the fact that they never spawned a consistent death metal institution of a band, no Bolt Thrower's, no Autopsy's, no Immolation's, no Dismember's, etc. Rather, many of their seminal bands only ever released a couple, one, or in the case of Abhorrence, no full-length albums, instead proving themselves curious oddities for the cryptic fanatic to uncover. Abhorrence, though, would have been the most deserving of a lengthy and storied career, given that they had the greatest impact on the Finnish sound with merely a demo and an EP. They're one of my favorite death metal bands of all time for how they defined this unnerving, visceral style, so it should come as no surprise that a release which offers tight, satisfying live renditions of all their classic songs is more than welcome in my eyes.

These songs feel just as heavy, foreboding, and repulsive on stage as they do on Abhorrence and Vulgar Necrolatry, the guitar and drums punching through just enough to grab you by the balls the same way they did on the original recordings, but not enough to drown out Jukka's distinctive vocals. Since his vocals have always been somewhere between guttural death growls and raspy, throat-razing shrieks, it feels right for the instrumentation to not be overly murky either. Yet still, Abhorrence were always able to capture the rotten, putrid sound even without a cavernous feel. They didn't even entirely abandon thrash on the demo or EP, but they made it work with compositions that simply carry a certain gloomy, sepulchral atmosphere in whatever setting they're played. "Pestilential Mists" may be iconic on the self-titled EP, but it feels instantly familiar on this live album too.

Another key point about the music of Abhorrence is that it's always been quite freakish sounding. My friends in the metal community like to describe bands and albums with single words, and along with early Pestilence, we all agree that Abhorrence was a freakish band, in the sense that they're more deranged with their morbidity than the average death metal band, and it makes you feel uneasy. Whether it's the thrashier cuts like the classic headbanger "Holy Laws of Pain", the descending tremolo lines in "Devourer of Souls", or the doomier segments in "Vulgar Necrolatry" and "Pleasures of Putrid Flesh", the live setting is a very neat and fresh (actually rotten), but still authentic compliment to these already repugnant musical numbers.

On that point, the tone of the music here is obviously much closer to the self-titled EP than to the Vulgar Necrolatry demo, just because it's way clearer sounding, whereas the demo had a very dirty and raw sound (certainly defining the putrid atmosphere). This means that the songs from the demo are sort of spilling their guts more, revealing intricacies that were harder to notice when listening to the original tape. "Devourer of Souls", "Pleasures of Putrid Flesh", and "Vulgar Necrolatry" still sound superb on this release, but more as though they were also featured on the EP.

This is a splendid album to own if you want some Abhorrence on CD or vinyl in your collection, but can't track down the Completely Vulgar compilation, least of all an original copy of their EP. It features fantastic, authentic renditions of all their classic death metal tunes, and proves them to be a worthy contender for the most unnerving yet headbangable death metal band. Certainly, a release like this will keep them relevant despite their body of work being a shortlived stroke of genius back in the 90's. It's all the more impressive that these guys are playing these songs again after reuniting, delivering authentic Finnish death metal two decades later. They are the originators after all!

Rating: 9.8 out of 10

Review by Rosh on November 26, 2023.

The Finnish death metal scene is altogether quite overlooked, and this might have something to do with the fact that they never spawned a consistent death metal institution of a band, no Bolt Thrower's, no Autopsy's, no Immolation's, no Dismember's, etc. Rather, many of their seminal bands only ever released a couple, one, or in the case of Abhorrence, no full-length albums, instead proving themselves curious oddities for the cryptic fanatic to uncover. Abhorrence, though, would have been the most deserving of a lengthy and storied career, given that they had the greatest impact on the Finnish sound with merely a demo and an EP. They're one of my favorite death metal bands of all time for how they defined this unnerving, visceral style, so it should come as no surprise that a release which offers tight, satisfying live renditions of all their classic songs is more than welcome in my eyes.

These songs feel just as heavy, foreboding, and repulsive on stage as they do on Abhorrence and Vulgar Necrolatry, the guitar and drums punching through just enough to grab you by the balls the same way they did on the original recordings, but not enough to drown out Jukka's distinctive vocals. Since his vocals have always been somewhere between guttural death growls and raspy, throat-razing shrieks, it feels right for the instrumentation to not be overly murky either. Yet still, Abhorrence were always able to capture the rotten, putrid sound even without a cavernous feel. They didn't even entirely abandon thrash on the demo or EP, but they made it work with compositions that simply carry a certain gloomy, sepulchral atmosphere in whatever setting they're played. "Pestilential Mists" may be iconic on the self-titled EP, but it feels instantly familiar on this live album too.

Another key point about the music of Abhorrence is that it's always been quite freakish sounding. My friends in the metal community like to describe bands and albums with single words, and along with early Pestilence, we all agree that Abhorrence was a freakish band, in the sense that they're more deranged with their morbidity than the average death metal band, and it makes you feel uneasy. Whether it's the thrashier cuts like the classic headbanger "Holy Laws of Pain", the descending tremolo lines in "Devourer of Souls", or the doomier segments in "Vulgar Necrolatry" and "Pleasures of Putrid Flesh", the live setting is a very neat and fresh (actually rotten), but still authentic compliment to these already repugnant musical numbers.

On that point, the tone of the music here is obviously much closer to the self-titled EP than to the Vulgar Necrolatry demo, just because it's way clearer sounding, whereas the demo had a very dirty and raw sound (certainly defining the putrid atmosphere). This means that the songs from the demo are sort of spilling their guts more, revealing intricacies that were harder to notice when listening to the original tape. "Devourer of Souls", "Pleasures of Putrid Flesh", and "Vulgar Necrolatry" still sound superb on this release, but more as though they were also featured on the EP.

This is a splendid album to own if you want some Abhorrence on CD or vinyl in your collection, but can't track down the Completely Vulgar compilation, least of all an original copy of their EP. It features fantastic, authentic renditions of all their classic death metal tunes, and proves them to be a worthy contender for the most unnerving yet headbangable death metal band. Certainly, a release like this will keep them relevant despite their body of work being a shortlived stroke of genius back in the 90's. It's all the more impressive that these guys are playing these songs again after reuniting, delivering authentic Finnish death metal two decades later. They are the originators after all!

Rating: 9.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on November 24, 2019.

The sulphurous stench of black metal appears in many forms and the Swedish duo with the almost unspeakable name Azelisassath presents its own interpretation. This is not to say that they have found their special, experimental approach. The opposite is true, In Total Contempt of All Life is a typical black metal underground output. Nevertheless, the Scandinavians dish up their own icy cocktail while following the tried and tested methods. This is what makes black metal fascinating: the seemingly narrow frame leaves more room for creative thoughts than it seems. And we can be sure that more exciting, yet traditional variations are yet to come.

Azelisassath do not strive after new extremes. Black metal has this excessive element in itself. That makes it easy to spread the vibes of misanthropy as soon as one has completely understood the spiritual core of the subgenre. Obviously, the artists have quickly learned the laws of black metal. The scornful, partly inhuman voice coalesces with the lava-like instrumentation and musty atmosphere flirts successfully with insensitive harshness. The duo combines the well-known components masterly and the production supports the underground charm of the material. The drums, for example, fight a losing battle. Their place is the backyard and sometimes I need a hearing aid to know they are still there. But it belongs to the mysteries of black metal that usually important details become totally irrelevant as long as the spirit of the music is expressed convincingly. Needless to say, that technical tricks also do not play an essential role. The dudes are no amateurs, but high-sophisticated song structures are not their playground. On the other hand, we are still talking about black metal of the true Norwegian / Scandinavian kind and this means that the conventional verse-chorus-verse pattern does not occur as well. At first glance, In Total Contempt of All Life seems to be another primitive product, but appearances are deceiving. The album sounds raw and intense, bitter and grim, but it does not concentrate on overly simple designs.

The highlights, namely “Malignant Soul Rape”, “His Desecrating Evilness” and “Path of Misanthropic Hate”, rely on their good flow, their high degree of dedication and their pureness. One can discuss about the question which band was most influential on Azelisassath’s way of proceeding, (the true) Mayhem, early Pest (Sweden) or a combination of Urgehal and Nifelheim, but believe me, this is a monolithic output. External inspirations from beyond the black metal universe are not identifiable. The morbid severity of the compositions destroys each ray of light before the sun has the smallest chance to rise. Some desperate screams underline the total negativity of the material, but melancholic sequences do not shape the album. This work appeals to the darkest spots on your soul and only less important sections, in particular the gloomy yet actually superfluous intro and outro, do not take complete possession of the listener’s mind. However, it feels good to listen to this album and the picture disc ensures a visual charm as well. Only the subgenre-typical, never-ending flood of countless newcomers prevents that Azelisassath’s name is not better known.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10