Willowtip Records’ been on a constant rollercoaster the past several years releasing quality albums and An Abstract Illusion‘s latest offering of Woe once again is another great addition to add for albums of 2022. Those don’t know An Abstract Illusion, they’re a Swedish extreme metal band that incorporates elements of progressive death metal, black metal, folk and even electronica which says that their musical soundscapes and structure doesn’t sound the same. This album is packed with infectious melodies, beauty and carnage like heaviness and the craftsmanship alongside the instrumentation work matches the album’s moodiness and personification which the songs contain emotion, anger, sadness and melancholy to feature and behold one that will remain untouched.
Even moments when you first listen to this album you also get some progressive rock influences on certain tracks such as In The Heavens Above, You Will Become A Monster, The Behemoth That Lies Asleep and my personal favorite being Tear Down This Holy Mountain really solidifies the impeccable achievements these members created is such a fascinating discovery beginning to end. The one thing about this album I can say not only been such a wonderfully crafted and remarkably driven record to see the band’s comfort zones into blending different musical stylings, but to understand and capture their visionaries into diving a much more experimental, diverse and expansive record showcasing heaviness, progressiveness, and folky, symphonic driven atmosphere is very esoteric and one of the most engaging drawback records I’ve heard on a album in quite sometime. If you love your music filled with chaos, brutality, ambient at times and want a record showcasing bit of every musical component out there then I urge you all to check out Sweden’s An Abstract Illusion and their amazing album Woe.
Overall Score: 9.0/10
Review by Jake Butler
