Osees - “Abomination Revealed At Last” Review
Written by Beau Croxton
Abomination Revealed At Last album artwork by Tetsunori Tawaraya, out Friday via Deathbed Record
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: AUGUST
The new Osees new album —Abomination Revealed At Last, is a relentless ripper of a record that serves a fitting reaction to a world on fire. Sonically, it’s a brilliant a mutation of their recent punk approach with their early garage rock antics.
Osees are back with a vengeance– another year, another crazy Osees record, and another tour. The band (led by psych/garage rock legend John Dwyer) has been releasing an album with a corresponding tour every year, for the past three years, since 2022’s A Foul Form. They deliver a fourth consecutive cycle in 2025 with their 29th album, Abomination Revealed At Last, which hits this Friday—ahead of another fall tour.
While the last three records had their own specific identities, Abomination Revealed at Last exists as a mutation of many things past and present for the band, with the most consistent thread being the face-melting, hardcore-punk explosions of A Foul Form. Their new album is a no-bullshit ripper that combines their recent punk approach with many of the strange, delightful garage rock tangents and quirks that define their pre-2020 catalog. It’s also billed as a response to the current “mist of atrocities swirling the planet”. It's a fitting response, as it rips and roars in utter disgust at the state of society. The artwork and the title of the album are an exciting call back to their album Mutilator Defeated At Last (2015), which Dwyer touched on briefly in our interview.
Check out our track-by-track review of our Album of the Month: Abomination Revealed At Last
Opening track “Abomination” blasts the album wide open like a nuclear warhead. Blast-beats, squelching synths and dissonant guitar leads lead you astray, then violent bursts of hardcore punk and shrill screaming vocals warn you of a ‘Violent Abomination”. It often recalls the heaviest and most intense moments on the band's 2022 album A Foul Form, albeit with some intentionally dissonant moments. When the band released the excellent and eerie video for “Abomination” (starring Lloyd Kaufman), Dwyer exclaimed it as “A love letter to Dr. Strangelove / a big fuck you to warmongers everywhere”.
“Sneaker” finds John Dwyer leaning heavily into his “goblin-mode” vocals that characterize the early Osees discog, (a voice that you can hear on tracks such as “I Need Seed”). It's nostalgic and it appears quite often on Abomination. The first half of the song has very catchy punk choruses in 6/4, and harmonized leads that recall some guitar/synth arrangements from Intercepted Message’s “Stunner”. The back half of the track works marvelously, latching onto hushed, chanted vocals that are similar to the back-half of “Blank Chems” of that same album. Dwyer indulges in catchy repetition: “Skin like metal / Fold like a river/ Bend like a reed, yeah”. Ultimately, it’s as if they threw many of the most fun bits from the band's last few records into a blender.
“God’s Guts” is defined by nasty and fuzzy chords and it stomps through between some punky, robotic disco beats. Dwyer enthusiastically screams “WAOW! WAOW-YAY-YEAH!” ahead of face-melting wah-wah solos— he sounds straight out of the looney bin in the best way possible. Dwyer has described some of the punky verse-chorus tunes of the past few albums as “boneheaded” — and this track is a belligerent, boneheaded brute alright. “Infected Chrome” has some SORCS 80-esque synth moments and catchy choruses, and it doubles down on the “screaming before an incredible guitar solo” move of the previous track. It may actually have even better guitar solos– they are very shred-your-heart-out moments. This track sounds like a great mix of the weirdo-synth-punk this group has been up to for the past few records. Also…who doesn't love an “It's alright!” chorus?
“Glue” is a track that would fit nicely in their setlist next to their more loud, fuzzy, and barbaric tracks like ‘Withered Hand” and “Animated Violence.” It's a lengthier cut, so it can feel a bit repetitive and long-winded among so many shorter-burst tracks. But ultimately, the repetition is primal and thrilling – Dwyer really drives this fuzzy romp home with some of his trademark, hyped-up yelpings in the outro.
Osees by Titouan Massé
Up next, we have an extremely potent stretch of tracks which could be considered the energetic peak of the record. On “Ashes 2”, between the verses’ snapping, garage-rock chords, and Dwyer’s trademark, goblin-esque vocals, you might think you were listening to some old live Osees bootleg from 2012. But before you know it — hardcore punk wipes you clean off your feet. Dwyer shouts “What ! The ! Fuck! Is going on?!” — what a great question for the year 2025. This track is thrilling, and it’s all said and done just shortly after the one minute mark. Sure, it only lasts 69 seconds, but it’s 1+ minute of incredible, old-school Osees flavor in a Foul Form sandwich. Delicious!
“Coffin Wax” is an energetic standout– it’s a killer, speedy garage-punk song infected with classic Osees spirit. It’s got screeching guitars and a harsh wah-noise between verses to get the adrenaline pumping. The band’s energy is off the charts, and it's a roaring delight. “Ashes 1” is a relentless ripper that feels like A Foul Form on steroids. Dwyer’s screaming reaches new heights in pitch and the song is a vicious hardcore-punk attack that is all over in under a minute. Brief, but effectively violent. Lead single “Fight Simulator’ is largely one of the best tracks, but then again, the band is always great at picking the best track for a lead single. This highlight is a great representation of what works best on the record: ripping hardcore punk of modern Osees mixed with the weirdo-garage-rock diversions of their earlier material. The Face Stabber-style spacey jam is excellent. Lyrically, it covers the political divide and the powerless feeling of being in the cogs of the machine.
“Protection” is a moody track that gets stuck in a riff and starts to weave it back and forth playfully, sometimes with harmonics. It’s not the most essential moment, but a cool one at the very least; while some moments steal the show, there really isn't any wasted runtime on Abomination. The first half of “Glass Window” is already a total garage-rocker party, but at 1:10 it goes sky-high with a busy and theatrical samba-esque jam, with incredible drumming from the duo of Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone. It’s full of wild, cowbell-infused drumlines and distorted guitar leads that harmonize with synths; the instrumentals are incredible, and the track is an easy standout.
Dwyer drops his tone down to a more Misfits-style vocal approach on “Glitter-Shot”, which is a catchy, grim riff-rocker that addresses the ridiculousness of our current political environment. The track wraps the themes of the album up in a great and on-the-nose way, with lyrics like– “Why don’t you show me something true /I’d be shocked / humanity mocked” and “The lies keep the capital alive/ the tyrant needs attention to survive”.
Ultimately, Abomination Revealed at Last is a very raw, energetic and primal record that perfectly captures the animosity of the Osees live show. The record conjures up a rowdy and sweaty concert setting. It presents a potent mix of Osees’ more recent punk sound warped into their classic, freaky, off-kilter garage rock. It’s so refreshing for the band to inject that old-school Osees flair: you have their screeching wah-wah solos, Dwyer’s yelping, his bizarro voices and so much of their vivid personality.
It also frees up a cycle of albums that have stuck to a certain script. With this record, Osees let their freak flag fly high, and they find success in the unique mix of sounds that they can achieve when they are not burdened by any self-imposed parameters or genre specifics.
Abomination Revealed At Last is a strange and explosive record that is aptly named, as it is a glorious mutation of some of the band’s contrasted strengths–and it's a total thrill to throw it on. It is also very timely– as a listener, it's always cathartic to have a ripping soundtrack during times when the world makes you want to scream. Scream on, and may Lord have mercy on the mosh pit at the upcoming Osees shows.
Occult Highlights: Ashes 2, Fight Simulator, Coffin Wax, Glass Window, Sneaker, Infected Chrome
(…but we recommend you spin the whole thing at home while doing your best John Dwyer air-guitar impression in the mirror)