Abysmal Dawn

Abysmal Dawn are an American metal quartet based in Los Angeles. They play an aggressive form of modern death metal that melds elements of thrash and blackened and technical death metal. They are led by vocalist, guitarist, and producer Charles Elliott, the band’s only constant member. Abysmal Dawn are among the hardest-working bands on the American scene. Since releasing their self-titled demo in 2004, they have toured almost constantly across North America, South America, and Europe while refining their style. Their first album, From Ashes, brought them notice on both sides of the Atlantic as an innovative, restless band eager to shake up the American scene. Later albums including 2011′s Leveling the Plane of Existence reflected their desire to add angular yet pronounced grooves to their blackened brand of death metal, while their live performances of the time brought a a fresh wave of listeners. By the time they’d released Obsolescence in 2014, their meld of old-school rhythms, modern technical prowess, and a boost in production values brought them to the attention of South American listeners as well as Americans and Europeans.
Abysmal Dawn were formed in Los Angeles by guitarist/vocalist Charles Elliott in 2003 with guitarist Jamie Boulanger, bassist Carlos Arriola, and drummer Terry Barajas. Their early music, as revealed by their self-titled demo in 2004 and their debut album, 2006′s From Ashes, drew comparisons to mentors Suffocation and Carcass for their brutal death metal aesthetics. By the time they issued Programmed to Consume in 2008, they had signed to Relapse and had a new bassist in Mike Cosio. Taking a look in the rear-view mirror, Elliott had written songs that deliberately showcased thrashy riffs and blaring blastbeats as a way of paying tribute to old-school death metal. The band splintered further after a tour, with Boulanger leaving in 2008 to be replaced by Abigail Williams’ guitarist Ian Jekelis. The endless touring with their new guitarist continued, but by 2010, the constant travel had worn out drummer Barajas. He left in 2009 and was replaced the following year by Scott Fuller. The trio version of Abysmal Dawn cemented their new sound while touring for nearly a year. In 2011, the trio cut Leveling the Plane of Existence for Relapse, and it became their best-selling album, thanks in large part to the goodwill the band engendered by playing virtually every North American metal festival. Cosio left the band after the album’s tour and was replaced by Eliseo Garcia (who also helped out with additional vocals).
In late 2013, prior to a tour that would showcase new songs for a forthcoming album, Abysmal Dawn became a quartet again with the addition of second guitarist Andy Nelson. In 2014, the band issued Obsolescence, co-produced by Elliott with Mike Bear, the set got a better reception in Europe than it did Stateside, thanks to Abysmal Dawn’s grueling tours of European festivals. Despite the critical success, touring proved to be stressful: Nelson and Fuller both left in 2016. Drummer James Coppolino (ex-Insentient) signed on, and Abysmal Dawn became a trio again until 2017 when guitarist Vito Petroni came aboard. That year Abysmal Dawn entered the woodshed, working out new possibilities and a much more technical-oriented approach chock-full of angular, complex riffs, dissonant changes, and abrupt time changes.
Elliott assembled Garcia and Coppolino at his own professionally run recording studio for informal jam sessions as he wrote new material. After Petroni was formally integrated, Elliott and his drummer began recording their own parts for a forthcoming album as time permitted; it marked the first time the band was not on a deadline, and Petroni and Garcia added their parts later. The result, Phylogenesis, the band’s debut for Seasons of Mist, was released in April of 2020 during the novel coronavirus global lockdown. Despite being unable to tour at the time, the album garnered universally positive reviews for its use of innovative rhythms and textures. ~ Thom Jurek