Abigor - _Apokalypse_
(Napalm Records, 1997)
by: Henry Akeley (8 out of 10)
Once again, Abigor uphold their tradition of simultaneous preservation and innovation on each new release. Like the excellent _Opus IV_, this six-track, seventeen-minute MCD features raw, fevered, and ominous black metal as only this band can create it. Yet compared to _Opus IV_, the new material is less involved and experimental, more uncomplicated and direct. Keyboards are not used at all this time. Nor are the rousing, medieval-styled instrumental flourishes which the band excels at. And Silenius' trademark anguished shriek is gone as well. This time, the vocals are delivered in two distinct voices, sometimes alternating, sometimes overlapping. The first is a sharp, mid-ranged variation on the standard black metal rasp; the second, an eerily processed, echoing whisper or croak. Mixed in with strange musical passages, haunting phrasings, and murky, funereal guitar tones, the manifold vocal effects lend a stifling, menacing atmosphere to an already grim sound. On songs like "Verwustung" and "Ubique Daemon", the results are impressive: ripping, stirring black metal that retains Abigor's distinctive feel without merely echoing their prior material. Although they're brief, the six songs all manage to be interestingly distinct from each other. Some, like opener "Celestial", are impassioned and simple; others, like "Ubique Daemon", feature more drastic changes in tone and speed. All in all, a very cool release - recommended to anyone interested in hearing totally grim, no-frills black metal done in a weird and creative way.
(article published 9/4/1997)
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