Once upon a time, Florida was a hotbed for death metal bands.
And judging from the emergence of a group like the Absence, this aforementioned extreme metal style is still going strong in the area.
On their sophomore full-length, 2007's Riders of the Plague, these Tampa natives unleash a downright ferocious racket -- speed metal riffing, Iron Maiden-esque guitar harmonies, runaway train drumming, and more.
Also included are vocals that alternate between screaming (the album opening title track) and Cookie Monster growling ("Dead and Gone").
And you've got to love the fact that there is an instrumental smack dab in the middle of the album ("Prosperity").
If bands such as Entombed, Cannibal Corpse, and Six Feet Under are still in heavy rotation on your iPod, then the Absence's Riders of the Plague is certainly worthy of taking up some precious megabytes.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riders of the PlagueThe Absence, Jamie Stewart | The Absence | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Dead and GoneThe Absence, Jamie Stewart | The Absence | Play | 05:02 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | The MurderThe Absence, Jamie Stewart | The Absence | Play | 05:22 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | EchosThe Absence, Jamie Stewart | The Absence | Play | 05:05 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | World DividesThe Absence, Jamie Stewart | The Absence | Play | 05:35 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | ProsperityThe Absence, Jamie Stewart | The Absence | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | AwakeningThe Absence, Jamie Stewart | The Absence | Play | 05:13 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | MercilessThe Absence, Jamie Stewart | The Absence | Play | 06:44 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Into the PitChuck Billy, Eric Peterson, Alex Skolnick | The Absence | Play | 02:48 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | The Victorious DeadThe Absence, Jamie Stewart | The Absence | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | OutroThe Absence, Jamie Stewart | The Absence | Play | 07:03 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 55 mins | 126 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Absence | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 2 | Brian J. Ames | Layout Design |
| 3 | Chuck Billy | Composer |
| 4 | Brian Elliot | Assistant Engineer |
| 5 | Simon Johansson | Vocal Engineer |
| 6 | Peter Joseph | Bass, Group Member, Guitar, Layout Design |
| 7 | Jonas Kjellgren | Engineer, Guest Artist, Lead, Mastering, Mixing, Producer, Vocals |
| 8 | James Murphy | Guest Artist, Lead |
| 9 | Per Nilsson | Guest Artist, Lead |
| 10 | Eric Peterson | Composer |
| 11 | Patrick Pintavalle | Bass, Group Member, Guitar |
| 12 | Alex Skolnick | Composer |
| 13 | Jamie Stewart | Composer, Group Member, Vocals |
| 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. |