Ab Imo Pectore "The Dissociative Path"

Ab Imo Pectore, emerges in Portugal around 2009; spawn by Iunus’s mind, in an attempt to express his abstract visions. Shortly after, W.uR appears and together they conceive the first form. Still, something was missing in order to reach the path to perfect plenitude. That’s when Eter joins and closes this hermetic manifestation. And the result of this unholy gathering is at sight, from the most dark corners of Ab Imo Pectore mind, emerges "The Dissociative Path" released earlier in the beginning of the year by the hands of Debemur Morti Productions. The lyrics are quite allegorical and approach themes like metaphysics or gnosis of things, while their sound breathes classic influences of later 90's and from the latest Black Metal acts. Ab Imo Pectore (latin for "from the deepest chest") achieved, effectively, to pass in just 6 tracks, their whole delusional, yet hostile, view of the World.

The Demo begins with "Shearers Of God", and what seemed like an intro, soon it metamorphoses into something evil that sucks you into this strange and delusional scenario in which we are ruthlessly dragged around... this strange garden, while macabre whispers and laughters haunt our mind creating Dantesque visions in our head. "Mother of Mothers" keeps on bringing to my mind Dario Argento's cult classic "La Terza Madre" or "Mother Of Tears", in a almost maternal way, the voice seems to wrap us in a slower pace but soon it morphs into a more frenetic rhytm. There is clearly a concern that all the conditions are created so that we are swallowed with this manic and eccentric environment. "Mass Grave Emanations" is probably the most fast track of the Demo, sweating hate in all of his pores, it harasses us violently as this obscure figure in the background, reads us our last rites. Meanwhile a strange peace in the midst of this organized chaos arrives with the instrumental/interlude track "Space Devouring Space", and it fits and sets the tone perfectly for the next track, "Sulphur Garden". Once again the tone is set by this experimental and ritualistic Black Metal orchestrated by the band with all of its bitterness exhaled from their cold and lifeless bodies. The end soon arrives with "A Boundless Dispersion", an obscure instrumental track that serves as an outro, but somehow to me, it feels like it's almost a harbinger of things to come..

One of the great strengths of this band, is how they manage to combine the atmospheric elements with the ugliness and rawness of Black Metal, which gives them an unique personality and it easily releases them from the other new bands that are emerging in the scene. Although the influences of the French Black Metal scene are more than obvious, and add to that some US acts like Leviathan, i can almost relate Ab Imo Pectore's sound to the very interesting and underrated Icelandic BM scene... think of Wormlust and the most recent case, Vansköpun. Unpredictability lurks around every track and within them. This is one factor that pleases me the most in this release. This sick twist between pleasure and suffering plunged into blackness, is the core of  "The Dissociative Path". Besides that, another of the highlights is certainly the excellent production of both sound and visual. It's great to see new bands like Ab Imo pectore arise within the national scene which itself raises the quality of what is best made on my land Lusitania. Hail Ab Imo Pectore! You can grab a copy of the tape here. Highly Recommended for fans of Leviathan, Blut Aus Nord, Wormlust, Deathspell Omega.

listen | from the deep of my chest