If you were to make a "death metal checklist," all of the genre's prerequisites are met on the 2008 release by Abysmal Dawn, Programmed to Consume.
In case you're unfamiliar with what these basics are, they would include guttural growls so deep they might make the Cookie Monster envious, metronome-perfect drumming, Slayer-esque riffing and soloing, blazing fast tempos, etc.
The Los Angeles-based quartet has been slugging it out since 2003, and five years into Abysmal Dawn's career, they have turned into a band that can match pretty much any other group in the genre.
And while musically and sonically they may sound quite similar to other extreme metal bands, judging from their song titles they do not succumb to the expected "Satan is the greatest" themes; in fact, upon first glancing at such titles as "Programmed to Consume," "Aeon Aomegas," and "Cease to Comprehend," you may be led to believe that Abysmal Dawn could even be a "thinking man's metal" act.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Programmed to ConsumeAbysmal Dawn, Charles Elliott | Abysmal Dawn | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 2 | Compulsory ResurrectionAbysmal Dawn, Charles Elliott | Abysmal Dawn | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 3 | Twilight's FallenAbysmal Dawn, Charles Elliott | Abysmal Dawn | Play | 05:29 | 12 MB | 41 MB |
| 4 | Grotesque Modern ArtCarlos Arriola, Abysmal Dawn, Charles Elliott | Abysmal Dawn | Play | 03:10 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | A Remission of LifeJamie Boulanger, Abysmal Dawn, Charles Elliott | Abysmal Dawn | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | The DescentAbysmal Dawn, Charles Elliott | Abysmal Dawn | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | Aeon AomegasJamie Boulanger | Abysmal Dawn | Play | 01:42 | 3 MB | 9 MB |
| 8 | Cease to ComprehendJamie Boulanger, Abysmal Dawn, Charles Elliott | Abysmal Dawn | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 9 | Walk the Path of FireAbysmal Dawn, Charles Elliott | Abysmal Dawn | Play | 05:41 | 13 MB | 41 MB |
| 37 mins | 85 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 274 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abysmal Dawn | Audio Production, Composer, Primary Artist |
| 2 | Carlos Arriola | Composer |
| 3 | Terry Barajas | Drums, Group Member |
| 4 | Jamie Boulanger | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 5 | Anthony Clarkson | Logo |
| 6 | Sacha Dunable | Introduction |
| 7 | Charles Elliott | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals |
| 8 | John Haddad | Audio Engineer |
| 9 | Orion Landau | Layout Design |
| 10 | Mick Mullin | Mastering |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |