ABIGOR

That said, there's a sense here that whilst a proper studio ended up giving them a lot of tools they were eager to use, they perhaps weren't yet ready to use them to their best effect; it's a very busy album and they are throwing a lot at the wall to see what sticks, but the mix sounds like it sometimes goes a little skewed and they risk losing their way. The next album would find them tightening things up considerably.

Considering how primal and 'anti-art' much of the second wave of black metal purported themselves to be, it is halfway ironic?though entirely welcome?that so many of the bands have since expanded their grasp to encompass experimental and avant-garde territory. Austria's Abigor was founded in 1993 as a relative mirror of their Norwegian contemporaries' approach and atmosphere, but nine full-lengths have witnessed an evolution in favour of bleak abstraction. Like Deathspell Omega, Abigor use their strangest elements to amplify the spiritual warfare and malevolence held sacred by genre-traditionalists.

I have been a moderate fan of Abigor's work since 2010 when they released the impressive Time Is the Sulphur in the Veins of the Saint. In the years since, I've gotten around to hearing most of their work. While I've found most of their back catalog enjoyable (with particular accolades going to the above-mentioned Sulphur, abstract masterpiece Fractal Possession and their classic Nachthymnen), I have always had the impression that Abigor aren't quite as consistently masterful as the bands they're often compared with. In the case of Leytmotif Luzifer, the chaotic aggression, spastic leads, and 'orthodox' spirituality peg them firmly within the neighbourhood of the aforementioned Deathspell Omega. It is worthy of some praise that Abigor have unleashed their most hectic album to date, but they seem to lack something that Deathspell Omega had plenty of: a means of refreshing the effect of their extremity through consistent and dynamic composition.

It is not my intention to imply that Leytmotif Luzifer was in any way hurried or thoughtless when it came to its songwriting. Black metal as complex and harried as this never blooms without some numberless amount of attention given to it. Each minute of the album rushes past in a surge; the faux-chorus of growled vocals alone seem to play the part of an unruly mob; an impression of chaos?in this context only?comes from strict order on the band's part. The guitars are fast and biting, and sometimes bolstered with symphonic undertones. Leytmotif Luzifer is replete with quick burst-fire solos that emerge in virtually every track, exactly alike in tone and context to the leads of Deathspell Omega's own Fas ? Ite, Maledict, in Ignem Aeternum. It's clear where Abigor have taken some of their inspiration from; they employ chaotic energy to generally admirable effect, but for music that has taken such great lengths to appear avant-garde, Leytmotif Luzifer sounds a little too familiar for its own good.

Abigor have charged with such speed and aggression here that it takes several listens to make any sense of it. That feeling of being out-of-control as a listener is part of what can make this chaotic branch of black metal work so well. The band's folly with Leytmotif Luzifer is that they have continued this assault without relent; there is no respite nor sense of contrast to give weight to the amorphous aggression that runs throughout the album's length. Abigor's dedication to chaos and most forms of extremity work against their own effect. It is not long before the listener grows accustomed to the same guitar patterns and sporadic leads; as any addict will tell you, it's not long before a tolerance builds up. It is such that it actually feels like a revelation on 'Temptation V: Neglect' when Abigor tone down the chaos for the sake of a quasi-Gregorian vocal hook: "We praise thee!".

Even when it seems to be an expected prerequisite to have at least a mild fluency in Latin and/or Greek to make a 'serious' anti-Christian statement in black metal, it should be said that Abigor yet stand apart from any of their peers when it comes to their lyrical exploration. Leytmotif Luzifer is not, perhaps, the epitome intellectually and challenging manifestos; it is nonetheless difficult and rare for a band to write Satanic lyrics that feel sincerely religious. Indeed, Leytmotif Luzifer reads like it was drawn from the pen-hand of a genuine fanatic. It is a shame that the music rarely evokes the same feeling of authentic spiritual evocation.

Although Abigor have never swayed from their mission of Satanic predication, their grasp of the subject has evolved just as much as the music; as per the best of their contemporaries, they pursue their worship with a poetic depth and conviction that matches the scriptures of those who profess other, considerably more mainstream theologies? Leytmotif Luzifer is nowhere near as cutting-edge, nor quite as inventive as it first sounds, but Abigor's latest packs enough of a swirling punch to satisfy most of those who deem themselves fans of this twisted end of the black metal spectrum.

Originally written for Heathen Harvest Periodical

Though this may sound strange when we're discussing a black metal record from 1994, one of the first things that grabbed my attention about Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age was how tight and precise Abigor sounds from a musicianship perspective. Drummer Thomas Tannenberger is especially on fire here, and in addition to dishing out plenty of lightning-fast blastbeats, his fills are also some of the most impressive I've ever heard. It's clear that Abigor has really honed in on their craft since their sloppy demo tapes, and their abilities as songwriters have also much improved. Although I don't think Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age entirely captures the dark atmosphere that Abigor was aiming for, there's no doubt in my mind that this is a great black metal album from beginning to end. The mildly technical style of songwriting immediately sets Abigor apart from the Burzums and Darkthrones of the world, and a few folky acoustic sections and synthesizer parts do further give the band a name of their own. I wouldn't say that the synthesizers are used particularly well, and they do often give off a bit of a cheesy vibe, but it is clear that Abigor is a somewhat unique band, even if they don't stray from the norm too often.

All in all, Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age is an impressive and pretty original debut from Abigor. The complex riff structures and twisted sense of melody are a clear signal of a band with a lot of promise, and I'll be looking forward to brushing up on the rest of Abigor's discography in the future. Although I'm missing any truly mesmerizing atmospheres on Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age, the band does deliver enough memorable riffs and progressive flourishes to make this a worthwhile experience for black metal fans. 3.5 stars are well-deserved for this impressive debut.

Although most early black metal demos had a terrible sound quality, Ash Nazg may take the cake as the worst sounding demo I have ever heard. Aside from faint guitar buzzing and shrieking vocals, the rest of the music sounds more like a technical hiccup than an actual recording - the drums are inaudible throughout much of the demo, and the bass is even less noticeable. Musically, this is pretty standard nineties' black metal without any ventures into the band's later, more progressive side. There are a few decent riffs scattered throughout this ten-minute demo, but they are concealed by the muddy production to the point where all that remains is incomprehensible noise.

Ash Nazg is a pretty terrible demo in all honesty, but thankfully Abigor would prove that they were a competent act with their upcoming 1994 debut album. This is avoidable unless you're a listener who devours all things 'kvlt'; even then, it is passable at best. 1 star is of course warranted in this case.

Caught in between the dedication necessary to come out with another full-length, and the quick one-take demos they had done so many of, Abigor released 'Orkblut - The Retaliation', a mini- CD that met some acclaim and success when it was released in 1995. Although being little more than twenty minutes long, a similar quality to that which Abigor would employ on their full- lengths is here, making the album a good, condensed equivalent to a typical forty minute journey with the band. Abigor do not innovate much here, but there are enough fresh and exciting ideas woven into their traditional style to make 'Orkblut' stand as an engaging listen to this day.

Most notable of a sound for this band are their use of flutes throughout the EP. Split into a number of smaller interlude tracks, flutist Rune adds a tranquil, arboreal tinge to what is otherwise a fairly dark piece of melodic black metal. With half of the songs on the album being over within a minute, there is the sense that 'Orkblut' is meant to be listened to from start to finish, and in that respect, it works quite well. Abigor have created an interesting sense of flow for their music. Emperor would be a good comparison for the black metal sound of Abigor; although maintaining a dark atmosphere throughout their music, Abigor are able to weave some nice melodies into it, through use of guitar. The melodies are not particularly memorable, but they are a nice contrast to what would otherwise be a pure descent into darkness.

'Orkblut' is one of the band's first truly good releases, and they would get better from here. Abigor don't have the same innovative awe as a band like Emperor or Mayhem, but this Austrian act commands a similar sort of power in their music. 'Orkblut' is not an excellent album, but at last, their talent as musicians is finally able to shine through.

In a string of chainsaw-production demos from Abigor, we see a slow, but sure development from a young, somewhat reserved black metal band, to a more adventurous sort of act. While improvements and evolution is evident in almost all of the demos, they all sadly share some of the worst production standards I have ever heard. 'Moonrise' is the fourth chronological demo from the dungeons of Abigor, and it is the first one where they have started to focus exclusively on longer songwriting. Their second demo 'Lux Devicta Est' had a nine minute track, but its aimlessness gave the impression that Abigor were not invested in taking that step at the time. Unlike the typical three song fare that Abigor is used to following when making their demos, 'Moonrise' consists of two longer tracks, and a short intro that involves frontman Peter Kubik spitting out some apocalyptic incantations. The two songs to come after are fairly similar in structure, largely featuring the howl of black metal that Abigor was now quite experienced with. In with the typical black metal elements are some sparse acoustics.

It is difficult to talk about the individual details of Abigor's music here however, because, like the other demos Abigor had done in the past, 'Moonrise' has some fatally bad production. Although 'Moonrise' can be lauded for seeing the band take a small artistic leap from their past demos, it may have even worse sound quality than the ones I have heard before. The sound generally amounts to a harsh blur of screams, burnt-out sounds that bear a semblance to guitars, and a faint beating in the background may or may not be drums. I'm not sure; whatever promise that was on 'Moonrise' is sorrowfully murdered by the demo production. Like the ones before, I have a feeling that Abigor recorded these exclusively for their own benefit, because as a listening experience, it is painful.

In February of '94, Abigor got together to rehearse some material they were working on. As one might expect, a one-take black metal demo is not something that's going to appeal to the audiophile in all of us. Although the songwriting appears to have promise, I cannot give this album anything more than a low rating, if only for the fact alone that it sounds so garbled.

'Promo '94' comes from a long stream of demos from Abigor, and sadly, none of them are particularly good. Abigor always saved their quality for full lengths. 'Promo '94' does show a degree of improvement from the band's origins in 'Ash Nazg', but they were still light years away from what they would accomplish in November of that year, with 'Invoke The Dark Age'. A three song collection, 'Promo 94' sounds like it was recorded with a budget tape recorder. The guitar sounds like it's a sorry product of damaged tape, and the vocals are amateurishly filled with superfluous echoes that ring above everything else. As for the drums of Thomas Tannenberger, they are barely heard in this performance. It is a shame that the recording values of the rehearsal are so poor, because the songwriting here is relatively solid. 'Eye To Eye At Armageddon' has some memorable guitar melodies, even. However, more often than not, the entire thing ends up sounding like a singular blob of distorted mush. 'Promo 94' may have been useful for the band to get their thoughts on tape, but for the average listener, this is a waste of time.

Abigor's second demo shows a fair improvement over their trashcan novelty demo 'Ash Nazg'. 'Lux Devicta Est' is not yet at the solid quality they would produce with 'Invoke The Dark Age' (their debut full-length) but it represents a band that is getting progressively tighter and more serious about their work. Much of the music still revolves around a recycled Norwegian black metal formula, but there are two tracks here that pique my interest. 'Kingdom of Darkness' is an uncharacteristically long song, although its structure can be broken down into an alternating soft-heavy pattern. The quiet moments are very dark and atmospheric, and the heavier parts show a real improvement over what Abigor was doing with 'Ash Nazg'. 'Animae Tortae' is a short interlude consisting of P.K snarling about evil-sounding things, before the music swells up into something gloomy and chaotic. Barring those two, 'Lux Devicta Est' is more or less, a bland black metal demo from a band who would go on to do much better things in the future.

Forming earlier that year, Abigor's 1993 'Ash Nazg' demo was the Austrian black metal outfit's first semi-official attempt to get their musical ideas onto a recorded medium. While Abigor's first full-length 'Verwustung' would demonstrate a firm grasp of the black metal style, this demo sees Abigor rotting in a barely audible lo-fi dungeon. While I would say that 'Ash Nazg' will satisfy the diehard fans of the band, it will likely repulse anyone and everyone else.

In terms of songwriting, each of these three tracks does have potential. The central riff of 'Dance Of The Dead' has got some beauty to it, and the band's use of medieval samples creates an interesting atmosphere. As is normally expected for a demo, the sound quality and performance here is poor. What makes 'Ash Nazg' verge on the brink of 'unlistenable' is its recording standard and sound. Black metal often prides itself on a bleak, lo-fi sound, but the music is almost entirely obscured by blatant recording errors, and a mushy mix that turns T.T's drumwork into a disappearing act. 'Dance Of The Dead' is the only song of the three which manages to get out alive, although it is scarred, bruised, and badly beaten.

The music here would show potential if it was not murdered by a painfully weak execution. The dreadfully out-of-tune guitars and washboard production far outweigh the mildly interesting acoustics and samples Abigor has to offer here.