{"id":231606,"date":"2026-03-03T21:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T20:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.angrymetalguy.com\/?p=231606"},"modified":"2026-03-03T21:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T20:26:19","slug":"abstracted-hiraeth-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.angrymetalguy.com\/abstracted-hiraeth-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Abstracted – Hiraeth Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Once upon a time, before I was a battle-jacket-wearing, corpse-paint-adorned, trve-metal warrior of the highest order, I was a high-school prog nerd. The djent wave was cresting just as I began to really delve deeper into music, and the hordes of technical, djenty bands with ultra-modern production and surprising amounts of melody still sit near and dear to my heart, even if I rarely reach back into the Sumerian-scented pile in my regular listening habits. 1<\/a><\/sup> That’s why when I saw the promo for Hiraeth<\/em>, the 2nd album by Brazilian prog metallers Abstracted<\/strong>, with comparisons to The Contortionist<\/strong>, The Human Abstract<\/strong>, and Between the Buried and Me<\/strong>, I couldn’t help but get a little excited at the prospect of newer music tapping into those formative sounds. Abstracted <\/strong>have been a band since 2013, and their long-gestating debut record, 2022’s Atma Conflux<\/em>, was an effective and varied slab of djenty progressive death metal, marred by tepid production and less-than-stellar clean vocals. More than anything, though, it showed potential as a record brimming with ideas that was so close to being great. With Hiraeth<\/em>, can the Brazilian group finally unify their influences into something more than the sum of their parts?<\/p>\n

On Hiraeth<\/em>, Abstracted <\/strong>demonstrates a thorough understanding of contemporary progressive metal styles and integrates them into something all their own. The band’s main sound is a djent-fueled take on modern progressive death metal, closest to early-era The Contortionist <\/strong>in its blending of odd-meter riffery, post-rock-influenced textures, and an enticing contrast between melancholic space-age cleans and technical 6-string chugs. Abstracted <\/strong>balance this with more traditional Haken<\/strong>-esque classic prog turnarounds and jazz breaks (“Sirens”), fast-paced Between the Buried and Me <\/strong>riff marathons (“To Quench This Insatiable Thirst”), and harmonic nuance within darker moments \u00e0 la Persefone <\/strong>(“Requiem”). The result is a varied and dynamic set of tunes that glide effortlessly between impressive riff-fueled aggression and cathartic melodies. Songs like “The Utter End” and “The Barren Grave of God” demonstrate the band’s ability to naturally move from strength to strength without missing a beat, unfolding across expansive guitar arpeggios, delightfully off-kilter breakdowns, virtuosic solos, and powerful musical climaxes.<\/p>\n