Cult Swedish maestros Wombbath return both with album number 7 ‘Beyond The Abyss’ and Pulverised Records ten years after first working together.
Back in 2015, when it was announced that a recently reformed Wombbath had signed to Pulverised Records and would soon release their first album twenty-two years, fans weren’t sure what to expect. After all, after their cult 1993 debut on Thrash Records, the band last sign of life until then was the ill-fated Death n’Roll inspired and ill-received ‘Lavatory’ EP and only main songwriter and guitarist Håkan Stuvemark remained from the original line-up. Little did they know that the aforementioned ‘reunion album’ ‘Downfall Rising’ was to be such a roller-coaster. With then Syn:drom / Skineater and future Massacre Jonny Pattersson in their ranks on vocals, Wombbath 2.0 proved to be a meaner, faster and far more menacing entity. Fast forward a decade: Four more extra full-length later and armed with a recently revamped line-up, the Swedes (plus one Brit, mind you) are back on Pulverised Records with what Stuvemark himself simply describes as the “first album since ‘Downfall Rising’ we’ve been welded together this good musically. It’s just there!”
After a digital EP in profit of the UNHCR (‘The Weight Of Reality’) in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, work began in the spring of 2022, a little over six months after the mammoth that was the sixteen tracks, 72 minutes that was their last album to date ‘Agma’ had been released. “I had a bunch of songs written and so did Jonny, and Thomas (van Wachenfeldt, who joined on guitar in 2018) was about to. But our then drummer Jon Rudin decision to leave the band after one last show at the Symbolic Open Air Festival in Czech Republic forced us to change our plans. It’s only once we found his replacement, former Dead Shape Figure Antti Silventoinen, that we resumed our course.”
After ‘Agma’ onslaught, it’s back to a more reasonable length as ‘Beyond The Abyss’ includes ten tracks, former Amon Amarth and close comrade Anders Biazzi once again helping them out with the final sequencing. Four songs were written by Håkan and three by Jonny and Thomas each. Three studios were used, mainly Jonny’s own Studio Unbound (vocals, drums, mixing and mastering) but also Thomas’ Bowstead studios and Stuvemark’s Necrotic Audio Productions, with now four out five members living in Sweden. “The sound and vibe on this album followed from ‘Agma’ yet it turned out more evil and angrier, although I reckon this wasn’t exactly planned. Often when creating the output depends on where you are in life at the moment… We all knew how good this album would be but I don’t think any of us actually understood that until we heard the final mix with everything on it. It was a ‘cowabunga moment’! Every time I listen to it, it puts a smile on my face and I have butterflies in my belly. Death Metal happiness!”
Although both he and Pettersson may be the busiest men in Scandinavian metal with a dozen projects/bands each (Consumption, Heads For The Dead, Reek, Rotpit etc.), for the guitar player there’s definitively only one Wombbath. “I would say the foundations were laid with ‘Downfall Rising’ and we’ve been building upon it ever since. My main inspirations remain Carcass, Entombed, Dismember and Edge Of Sanity but there’s always nice additions being made, like harmonies, odd notes, violin etc. In a way, each album is an extension from the previous one and ‘Beyond The Abyss’ is no exception but as I’ve said already, it’s the most aggressive and bad-ass album we’ve ever done!” Besides contributing guitars, von Wachenfeldt once again peppers few of the songs with his violin, a big plus according to Pettersson. “The symphonic element started off on ‘Agma’. Since Thomas is one of the foremost violin players in the folk music scene, he was able to bring those elements alive, as we didn’t want it to sound like another keyboard driven metal band.”
Yet the most surprising element will probably the presence of Rotpit and Left Hand Solution drummer Erik Barthold, guesting here on the track ‘Malevolent’ on… Saxophone and even Stuvermark wasn’t exactly ready for it at first. “It’s one of Jonny’ songs and it was his idea and vision. I’ve never been a huge fan of the instrument yet it turned out great, the one part where the sax comes in is one of my favorites on the album actually.” For Pettersson, it’s just the proof that they’re well aware of what their roots are, yet without forgetting we’re not living in 1993 anymore: “with this album, we wanted to push the progressive elements first displayed on ‘Agma’, but at the same time make the album our most old school since the early days of Wombbath. Where ‘Agma’ was fairly clean, ‘Beyond The Abyss’ is dark, filthy and, in a way, more organic. With one foot in the early days of Death Metal and one foot in the future, ‘Beyond The Abyss’ is the sound of us bringing our legacy forward.”
