Accabadora: Mazzolu
(Self-released)
DL | Streaming
Out Now
Accabadora is the latest project from Maurice De Jong of Gnaw Their Tongues infamy. Mazzolu is an EP of raw – heavy as hell – doom metal.
When it comes to obscenely heavy and experimental music, few artists are as prolific as Maurice De Jong. Perhaps best known for the bleak, suffocating soundscapes he creates as Gnaw Their Tongues, Maurice has an impressive number of projects under his belt. Golden Ashes and Grand Celestial Nightmare deal in epic black metal while Seirom offers something unexpectedly melancholic. Predominantly a one-man show, De Jong has collaborated with others on projects like It Only Gets Worse and his most recent album as The Sombre. To be clear, all of this barely scratches the surface.
Accabadora can now be added to the Dutch maverick’s modest list of collaborative projects as he teams up with a couple of friends to make some heavy as hell doom metal. While black metal has played a pivotal role in De Jong’s ever-expanding discography, it’s no surprise to find that he’s equally adept at doom. Suitably enough, the band’s name comes from Sardinian mythology and relates to death, suffering and ritual euthanasia. It’s a theme that sits rather well with the three tracks and 16 minutes’ worth of music that make up the Mazzolu EP.
We’re immediately plunged into darkness with opening track, Grasp the Light. The three-piece lock into a purposefully slow and oppressive groove. Raoul Dumas’ guitar is laced with murk and menace as De Jong’s bass and Nico Beemster’s drums wade through the sludge. Maurice’s vocals are guttural, unhinged and incalculably intense. I honestly wouldn’t expect anything less. About halfway in, the noise subsides and the band introduce an atmospheric, post-rock sound. The music builds like something from 28 Days Later before lunging into an appropriately feral conclusion.
Monstrous God picks up the pace but maintains the intensity. I don’t know if these guys are going to get out and play any shows but – MY GOD – if you close your eyes, you can practically see a room full of heads nodding along in appreciation. When they slow things down, that riff sounds absolutely devastating. They’ve done a fine job on the production side too, as the whole EP sounds satisfyingly raw and claustrophobic. Everything hits like you’re stood there in the studio. Suffice to say, fans of Primitive Man and mid two-thousands Southern Lord will lap this up by the bucket load.
While the heaviness of these songs can’t be overstated, the band have a clear ear for dynamics. Just listen to the cool, brooding breakdown that they sneak into the middle of Wrath, the EP’s unfeasibly brutal closing track. Rest assured, it all ends with the singer screaming like some demonic, animalistic entity. Though the EP isn’t as extreme as Gnaw Their Tongues, it remains a wholly uncompromising listen. As always, you can rely on Maurice De Jong to produce something that feels like the goddamn apocalypse.
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You can find Accabadora, Gnaw Their Tongues and loads of Maurice De Jong music on Bandcamp. You can also find him on Instagram.
All words by Andy Brown. You can visit his author profile and read more of his reviews for Louder Than War HERE.
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