ASH NAZG

'Ash Nazg' - Abigor (2/10)

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.

Quickly following their formation in 1993, Austrian black metal act Abigor assembled this ten-minute demo to get their ideas out to the public later that year. Ash Nazg is, like most black metal cassette demos from this time period, a virtually unlistenable experience - though the band displays a few interesting ideas, they are so obscured by an unbearable production that it comes across as a torturous listen. Fans of Abigor may find minor interest in Ash Nazg from a sheer novelty perspective, but it is far from an even remotely rewarding musical experience.

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.