I Am Abomination - To Our Forefathers
Good Fight Music
Progressive Post-Hardcore
10 songs (38:42)
Release year: 2010
Good Fight Music
Reviewed by Goat

Although the title makes it sound like the work of some malevolent Eastern-European Pagan Metal band with dodgy politics, I Am Abomination actually hail from Michigan and are more Protest The Hero than Poccolus. Their vocalist Phil Druyor is less over-the-top than Rody Walker, although the music is very much a similar melodic morass that will please fans immensely. The frequent dips into orchestral grandeur will pull in the Coheed & Cambrians, whilst the near-emo vocals will appeal to passing metalcore types. The band’s instrumental skills, meanwhile, will keep the core Metal crowd on their side, To Our Forefathers being reliant more on instrumental skill than the turgid whininess which can bog the style done. Quite how you true blue Metalheads out there will take it, I have no idea, but it’s a fair guess that those with an open mind will be quite impressed. This is well thought-out stuff, none of the ‘anything works’ mindset that plagues the Iwrestledabearonces of the world, but intense and neoclassically-tinged melodic music that I found enjoyable for a while despite being a gnarly devotee of the underground.

Where To Our Forefathers does less well is in the songwriting, which is generally good but since all of the songs sound rather similar can seem a little turgid. Listening to this album in one go is like eating lots of candy floss – it’s sweet and sticky, with that strangely moreish quality which keeps you going despite there seeming to be very little of substance underneath it all. Don’t expect bloody meat from this album, anything which you can really lose your shit to – tracks such as Art Attack do have riffs, but they seem to be placed to tickle more of the ‘progressive/post-‘ part of your brain than the ‘hardcore’ – you’ll nod along to this, but hardly mosh. And that, ultimately, is the problem with I Am Abomination, the overwhelming inorganic melodicness. A hardcore breakdown here or there would have worked brilliantly, but the harshest things get is halfway through, on Rock N’ No Soul where things go almost Neoclassical Power Metal for a moment, a bit of half-hearted growling seemingly a last minute addition to change the overwhelmingly dull vocal palette up a bit. The closing Element 151 has a bit of crunch to it as well, although throughout the album it’s never clear whether vocalist Phil is using some kind of electronic enhancement or not, which is off-putting to say the least.

So in the end, there are no killer songs, not when the album is like this – all I can ultimately do is advise that if you’ve heard of Poccolus, then brother, avoid this like the plague. Otherwise, and especially if you’re a fan of Protest The Hero or Coheed & Cambria, check this out, as with time and plenty of listens I’m sure I’d give this a good 15 points more.

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Killing Songs :
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Goat quoted 65 / 100
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There are 4 replies to this review. Last one on Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:22 am
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