{"id":600264,"date":"2026-05-23T19:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/600264\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T19:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:17:10","slug":"abandon-agony-endbringer-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/600264\/","title":{"rendered":"Abandon Agony – Endbringer Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In a year that\u2019s seen At the Gates release a seminal album that stands not only as a career touchstone but as a fitting swansong for Tomas \u201cTompa\u201d Lindberg, the bar for Swedish melodic death metal is pretty high in 2026. This fact, however, did not deter Trollh\u00e4ttan\u2019s fledgling act, Abandon Agony, from entering The Jester Race to flex some Gothenburg muscle of their own. Assembled in 2023, Abandon Agony released their first music a year later on the Dark Matter EP, and are now ready to unveil their debut long-player, Endbringer. As a group of relative unknowns, free from the confines of expectation that comes with an established amount of pedigree, Abandon Agony have gambled on themselves, choosing to release Endbringer independently. Will Endbringer signal the start of a long and successful career for Abandon Agony, or will it serve as a cautionary tale, relaying the slaughter of yet another up-and-coming melo-death soul?<\/p>\n

Abandon Agony do melodic death metal really well. Endbringer passes everything that makes In Flames and Dark Tranquility exciting through a Mors Principium Estuary of modern, thrashy, power-melodic slickery before hitting open waters teeming with Amon Amarthic life. Guitarists Tobias J\u00e4rvel\u00e4 and Christoffer T\u00f6nn\u00e4ng have the Gothenburg sound nailed down, their dual guitar assault wrecking necks, employing all the expected tropes: galloping, moody riffs, emotive, hooky leads, and tons of great solo work. Like the arms of Endbringer\u2019s reaper slowly opening, the folds of his robe unfurl, inviting us in with the majestic power chords of album opener, \u201cThe Truth,\u201d which then crank up a notch to catch Robin Toresson\u2019s speedy double-bass rolls. Johan Hedstr\u00f6m\u2019s excellent vocals\u2014a hybrid of Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth) and Randy Blythe (LoG)\u2014fade in from a rumbling growl to a scream that\u2019s met by some of T\u00f6nn\u00e4ng\u2019s nifty solo work and the song\u2019s first fleet-footed verse; Endbringer is up and running. This track embodies everything about the Abandon Agony experience, which is one that offsets powerful, deathly aggression with atmospheric and melodic subtlety.<\/p>\n

\ufeffEndbringer by Abandon Agony<\/a><\/p>\n

Endbringer is a potent, hard-driving melodeath album crammed with talented performances, all its poignant beauty revealed through the ghostly wisps of nuance rather than any overt melodic device. Whether it\u2019s a hint of keys here (\u201cThe Truth\u201d), the ghost of crystalline guitars there (\u201cDissolved\u201d), or actual cleans that are both credited\u2014Liv Jagrell\u2019s (Liv Sin) gritty vocals are a great counterpoint to Hedstr\u00f6m\u2019s roars on album highlight \u201cEntropy\u201d\u2014and uncredited (\u201cBlind Intentions,\u201d \u201cPolar Shift\u201d), these barely-there accompaniments serve to elevate many of Endbringer\u2019s masterful moments. And it\u2019s this beauty-and-the-beast balancing act that works so perfectly in Abandon Agony\u2019s favor, drawing the listener deeper into Endbringer\u2019s world without devolving into overwrought symphonia. T\u00f6nn\u00e4ng\u2019s excellent guitar work shines; his leads, ranging from the neo-classical (\u201cBlind Intentions\u201d) to the melancholy (\u201cLunar Storm\u201d), acoustic work (\u201cRise From the Ashes,\u201d \u201cPolar Shift\u201d), and wonderful solos (insert pretty much any song here), unleash a depth of emotion that enhances Endbringer\u2019s heavy edge. And as vocalists go, Hedstr\u00f6m\u2019s growls and screams have fast become some of my favorite, period; a far cry from the shaky cleans he employs in his power metal project, Memoria.<\/p>\n

\"\"
What pains me most, however, is that Abandon Agony have managed to run afoul of one of my biggest pet peeves, which is to pack half of Endbringer with songs that were originally released nearly two years ago. As annoying as it is to consider Abandon Agony have essentially mashed a couple of EPs\u2019 worth of tunes together, I must still admit the level of continuity between the two sets of songs bridges an impressive gap in time rather seamlessly. Beyond this fact, though, my only real critique of Endbringer falls on its modern production, which renders nearly all Jonathan Wagerland\u2019s bass work inaudible.<\/p>\n

Outside the context of my petty-est of peeves, Abandon Agony have released a damn fine melodeath album in Endbringer. Had they chosen to release an EP of five new songs rather than combining everything, not only might I have missed out on Abandon Agony for an even longer amount of time, but I certainly wouldn\u2019t have put them on anyone\u2019s radar here. As it stands, readers, take note, for another Gothenburg titan has arrived, and by the seeing eye of the great Whoracle herself, you can bet your ass I\u2019ll be watching closely for what comes next.<\/p>\n

Rating: 3.5\/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: May 22, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n