Location: Chicago, Illinois
Country: USA
Genre: Avant death/jazz metal
Full length: Enter the Misanthropocene
Format: Digital, CD
Label: Amalgam Music
Release date: August 15, 2025
Here is a recording from an extreme metal band that is broadening their horizons to such an extent that the outcome is simply bizarre. The second release from Abhorrent Expanse is described as demanding and intricate, a distressing plunge into hysteria that flourishes on contradictions, improvisations of deep discomfort and unpleasantness.
Characterized by chaos, disconnection, dissonance, atmosphere and noise, "Enter the Misanthropocene" represents the most intense and unpredictable fusion of death metal, drone, and jazz fusion one could ever hope to encounter. It transcends the realm of extreme metal, embodying a more abstract form, serving less as a musical declaration and more as a psychological enigma that penetrates the innermost corners of your mind and lingers there.
The album is frequently quite challenging to comprehend, leading one to question where and how the band collectively discovered the visions materializing as songs. Freestyle progressions intertwine, appearing to occur without any apparent reason; however, a method to the madness gradually and slowly manifests itself. But just when you think you’re certain Abhorrent Expanse is heading in one chaotic direction, they suddenly shift to another; this occurs to such an extent that you genuinely have no idea where they will proceed next.
"Enter the Misanthropocene" is unlike anything you have experienced from a metal band; it serves as a soundtrack to the most harrowing acid trip you have endured or the most bizarre dream from which you have awakened, with little to no memory of its content. Alternatively, one might consider this as the auditory counterpart to David Bowman's voyage through the boundless unknown in Stanley Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey". Recall the enigmatic and unsettling nature of that journey? One can anticipate a similar experience here.
Yet another perspective on these compositions can be found in the space that exists between Abruptum’s grand ambient/noise pieces and The Doors' tracks such as "The End", "When the Music’s Over" and "The Celebration of the Lizard". Regardless of how one perceives this band's songwriting, once it takes root in your consciousness, it starts to dismantle your disbelief from within, leading to where everything ultimately becomes clear. The ultimate shift from disorder to structure represents the true appeal of this album, when no sense makes sense.
Two promotional videos have been made for "Enter the Misanthropocene", and I’ll share both of them below to provide you with a clearer understanding of what I’m talking about. –Dave Wolff
Lineup:
Brian Courage: Upright and electric basses, prepared electric bass (2), electric piano (7)
Erik Fratzke: Guitars, electric bass, prepared electric piano (2), synth (5)
Tim Glenn: Drums, cymbals, percussion, door (5), chimes (6), bowed metals (8, 10)
Luke Polipnick: Vocals, guitars, prepared electric bass (2), bowed metals (10)
Jesse Whitney: Electronics, waterphone (1)
Nathan Hanson: Clarinets (10)
Craig Taborn: Oberheim synth, glass harmonica (11)
Track list:
1. Enter the Misanthropocene
2. Kairos
3. Praise for Chaos
4. Crystal Proliferation in Subharmonic Space
5. Waves of Graves
6. Assail the Density Matrix
7. Drenched Onyx
8. Nephilim Disinterred
9. Dissonant Aggressors
10. Ascension Symptom Acceleration
11. Prostrate Before Chthonic Devourment
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