Cult of Lilith is a death metal band out of Reykjavík, Iceland. They certainly play up their technical chops, but CoL is far from your average "tech death" band. Favoring the more eccentric take on the genre as bands like Gigan and Plague Rider, they take us on a more blackened and somewhat experimental journey. When taking into account that the group just formed in early 2015, Abaddon is even more impressive to behold.
Time changes, time changes, and more time changes. D-beats shift to blasts, then crushing amounts of double-bass pedal. It's a 10,000 piece jigsaw of rhythm. The first two tracks alone are full to the brim with technical prowess, but this is a tool rather than the planned outcome. All of this musical mastery underlies some very effective melody and songwriting that never ceases to be exciting. That interlude and following solo on "Tomb of Sa'ir"? Phenominal writing.
Speaking of solos, the guitarwork here is just as impressive as the drumming. Jazz-influenced soloing, blackened Vaderish tremolos, discordant wailing, and mathy palm-muted mind-fu@#ery are all part of the game with Cult of Lilith; and the rules are constantly being rewritten. It's a death metal round of Fluxx, and the dealer communicates only in grunts and growls. The only downside is that this 20 minutes is going to leave you wanting to play another hand.
Simply put, Abaddin is badass. I am a big fan of these more atypical takes on extreme technical music, and see it as an opportunity for metal to continue to grow and expand away from dime-a-dozen death metal bands. My hope is that Cult of Lilith continues to develop a unique signature that further distances itself from other peers experimenting in the genre. And a full LP maybe? In any case, you need to check out Abaddin today and further contort your sense of time and heaviness. Stream and purchase below.