When it rains, it pours. It felt for a while that the stream of new talent out of the expanding realm of technical death metal had been stemmed for the most part with there not much new talent that came around for a small length of time, yet it is this year that the sound has come back with a vengeance! We’ve seen plenty of relatively new talent come out of the woodwork to show us what can still be brought to the table, and it should go without saying that the competition has been exceedingly stiff. With only its second offering, Abyssalis adds its voice to the growing conversation with all the power, prowess, and fire that one could ever demand from this sound.

While I feel like it’s safe to say that people are always clamoring for the next sprawling release that is as wide as it is deep in regard to what technical death metal can be, there’s always something to be said about the relatively brief efforts that don’t overstay their welcome but maximize every second they command. Simply overflowing with established talent that has been a big part of what has made 2025 a great year for technical death metal, it’s right away that “Adaptation” shows us what kind of band Abyssalis is with the overwhelming whole of these five tracks doing nothing but decimate without exception. It’s a work of extremes no matter what direction Abyssalis veers. Not so much as a dull moment to be had across this creation as Abyssalis is more than proficient to showcase riffs and a devastating spectrum of intensity that writhes and swirls like a great planet-devouring tempest with the smaller moments of “Adaptation” showing a more restrained yet nonetheless off-putting side to Abyssalis as if they seem as comfortable lurking in the shadows as much as they showcase the power to dominate in their own scalding light. A dramatic sense of scale permeates the whole of this effort. I can’t find so much as a single minute throughout “Adaptation” that doesn’t stand as a tremendous showcasing of what this band can be with the very horizon theirs for the taking so long as they continue this utterly eviscerating form of aural offensives.

Does this EP break the rules of technical death metal and reinvent the sound? Not even close. But, for all that thrown down across these eighteen minutes, Abyssalis does extreme justice for all that this sound can be with a level of understanding and mastery that is an absolute feast for the senses even as the work seeks to devour every iota of your very existence. “Adaptation” may not seem like much from the outside, but it’s in hardly any time that Abyssalis stands out as a monolith of potential.

“Adaptation” releases on September 19th via Transcending Obscurity Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Adaptation” on Bandcamp here.

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