UMUR
"Through the Cracks of Death" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US death metal act Abscess. The album was released through Peaceville Records in May 2002. It´s the successor to "Tormented" from 2000 and features one lineup change as bassist Joe Allen temporarily stepped out of the band from 2000-2002 and didn´t rejoin in time for the recording sessions. The bass tracks were therefore recorded by the other three members of Abscess (who recorded three to four tracks each).
Abscess was formed by former members of Autopsy and Hexx. Especially the former was quite the prolific act on the early US death metal scene, but Abscess never reached more than underground recognition and struggled throughout their carrer to escape the shadow of Autopsy.
Stylistically the material on "Through the Cracks of Death" continue the raw and filthy old school gore/horrer themed death metal of "Tormented (2002)". Abscess still incorporate hardcore/punk influences, and there actually haven´t been much musical development between the two releases. There are other differences though, and it´s especially the two sound productions which are very different sounding. "Tormented (2002)" featured a dark, organic, and murky sound production, but "Through the Cracks of Death" features a less raw and also less organic sounding production job. Especially the drums feature a more dry and less heavy tone, which provide the material with a very different atmosphere from its direct predecessor.
To my ears the sound production unfortunately also means that "Through the Cracks of Death" is a step down in quality from "Tormented (2002)". It´s simply a less interesting album to listen to and it is in large part due to a sound production which doesn´t do the material justice. There are still several great death metal tracks on "Through the Cracks of Death" (I for example really enjoy "Tomb of the Unknown Junkie") and although I ultimately prefer "Tormented (2002)" to this one, it doesn´t mean "Through the Cracks of Death" is a bad quality release. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.