“Don’t you know that we leave as we came?“
German metalcore quartet Annisokay are back with a new EP, Abyss Pt 1, their first collection since the release of their fifth studio album Aurora in 2021 (which was followed with a special edition release in 2022 featuring live recordings). Aurora was their first release to feature now frontman and heavy vocalist Rudi Schwarzer, alongside guitarist and clean vocalist Christoph Wieczorek (who also undertook production duties on Aurora), drummer Nico Vaeen and bassist Norbert Rose.
True to form Abyss Pt 1 is filled front to back with anthemic choruses, great melodies and more than satisfying breakdowns. To say this is unique to them would be incredibly reaching, but where they do break new ground is with their ability to form atmosphere through their arrangements and the introduction of electronic elements in their body of work. The layering throughout this EP is superb, elevating the collection, for me, above some of the more mainstream metalcore releases.
With four out of six tracks already released, there are only a couple of surprises left here, but opening track Into the Abyss is one of them. Synths and keys build a beautiful soundscape, reminiscent of Aether and in parts Vangelis’ Love Theme (Bladerunner), culminating in a palpable crescendo broken at the peak by weighty chords, which then recede to leave crisp vocals and keys carrying the melody quite frankly ‘into the abyss’.
Industrial beats and synths get “Human” underway, with chugging riffs alongside a combination of drums and a drum machine giving additional texture, an approach now regularly and effectively used among the prog and djent genres also. The balancing of clean vocals and screams is comparative to that of Volumes and I Prevail, it is executed to perfection by Schwarzer and Wieczorek. Both hold their place clearly within the construction of the song.
“Ultraviolet” is the remaining surprise of the EP and well, what a belter of a chorus, I can see why it’s been kept back for release. What I really like about the format Annisokay have adopted across this collection is that their musicianship is tactful and designed to have the fullest impact possible. When there is so much to unpicks from a purely musical perspective, I think there is always a risk of artists crossing the line from ‘prog’ into ‘noise’ where everything over-laps and the impact is lost. However, by clearly applying a lot of thought and consideration to their song writing, they achieve great things when it comes to the gradients within the music and give the listener plenty of morsels to take a bite of.
“Throne Of The Sunset” only affirms the above statements with the addition of a ticking clock as percussion against the lyrics ‘time keeps ticking on and we can’t out run the sun, in this race that can’t be won’. At this point the melodies do feel a little predictable and repetitive, but fortunately for Annisokay their capabilities musically do enough for me to be willing to forgive that, across a full album collection I may not feel the same.
“Calamity” (their latest release from this EP) brings a needed change of tempo and and whilst lacking the creativity in places of the first four tracks it’s got a thoroughly catchy hook. This will certainly be a floor filler live and with a chorus of: ‘take me down to the depths you’re my calamity and I know can’t escape this reality’, it’s relatable and littered with riffs and fills from multiple genres, making it easily accessible for many.
“Time” closes out Abyss Pt 1, it is a good continuation from “Calamity” keeping the slightly lighter side of things at the fore and thusly having a greater degree of cleans. They also come full circle to “Into The Abyss” here, bringing back the atmospheric synth soundscapes which ebb and flow brilliantly in the background in the latter half of this track. In addition, the combination of “Calamity” and “Time” goes some way to offset my earlier chagrin at the melodic repetition, for which I am glad, as it is evident this EP is just scratching the surface of what Annisokay are capable of.
Overall, it’s a solid collection, the track listing is well thought out and has clearly been given as much consideration as the song writing itself, something which I personally appreciate. If this is only part one, then I dare say there are great things to come still and I’ll certainly be adding this into my rotation. My main concern would be that as they have found a recipe which works so well for them, there could be a risk of them staying ‘in a lane’ which would be a shame. There is clearly so much potential here that I for one hope that they keep on pushing the boundaries, particularly with the soaring sonics and atmosphere they can produce with synths in the mix.
7/10
Abyss Pt 1 is out now via Arising Empire, and can be listened to here.