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Aborym > Kali Yuga Bizarre > Reviews
Aborym - Kali Yuga Bizarre

A Bizarre Apocalypse - 90%

TUX3190, June 21st, 2012

Aborym are a symbol in the industrial black metal scene.

This band can be confused as an anonymous one, but it is composed by some protagonists of Norwegian black metal such as Faust and Attila and also by Sethlans Teitan, who will become the guitarist of Dissection and Unanimated years later…not bad uh? All these talents reunited to form an innovative industrial black metal band. Their first album it is the proof. As the title says, it is bizarre. The band will often use stanzas in poetic Italian that fit greatly, in my opinion.

I think that the best track is the fourth one, Roma Divina Urbs. It begins in a strange way: you can think that you stumbled into a folk/power album, but that’s not the case because when the medieval intro ends, a powerful scream blows. The drum machine begins to pulse and the keyboard does its best to create an ancestral and majestic atmosphere. The chorus makes you think of thousands of people sitting in the Coliseum, calling loudly for blood and violence, but at the same time proclaiming the powerful city in the world (in the Classic age, of course). In the second half of the song, it begins the so awaited verse in Italian, a real poem about the fall of Rome due to a general looseness. You can imagine the chaos and the madness spreading all over regions of the Empire, caused by the wrath of the Roman Gods, punishing the population for their sloth. When the strophe ends and you are totally absorbed by the poem, a desolate guitar solo starts and definitively kills you.

The album changes style in Tantra Bizarre, the electronic song of the album, and is so aggressive that the rhythm and synth effects possesses you, making you feel like you're in the middle of a rave party.

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus is the strangest song of the album. Even listening the track again and again and hearing what it said, I still can’t understand what it wants to communicate. Maybe nothing, or maybe it has such a profound meaning and I’m too dumb to realize it.

Another change of genre takes place in Metal Striken Terror Action. Tocals are deeper than the first songs, and I could say that they remind me of some death/thrash metal bands. The band will make a sort of second part of this song in the famous full-length With No Human Intervention, but it will be very different from the original one.

In conclusion, it's a strange album where the style switches from industrial black to pure electronic music to black metal with mythological themes. I think that the main concept of this album is the end of things, which can be suicide in Metal Striken Terror Action, the apocalypse in The First Four Trumpets, or the end of an age in Roma Divina Urbs. This album is certainly a milestone of industrial black metal.

An Absolute Fucking Masterpiece - 100%

Mystic_Ice, June 13th, 2007

This album was sadly overlooked for a long time. Not to say I didn't listen to it, but it took me a long time to genuinely "hear" it. If I had reviewed this album a couple of years ago, I might have given it a 70. However that can be said about several of my favorite albums. In retrospect, it seems the albums that have the most profound effect on me are a bit more demanding and less accessible. Therefore it may take several spins to appreciate this amazing album and is certainly not for the casual listener -- or for someone who wants easy, instant gratification.

In fact this is the average, casual listener's greatest fear. The song structure is almost nonexistent in conventional radio friendly terms. Each song is distinctly different and unique. The album as a whole constantly evolves and builds on something that is not quite tangible. Kali Yuga Bizarre is a fuzzy, distorted creation crafted from surrealism and emotion, more like a fleeting dream than conscious thought. Though incredibly unique it does have unifying elements and it works beautifully as an album overall. This is a nightmarish work of art that will pull you into a world that is completely bleak and devoid of light, and refuse to let go. It is both moving and disturbing. Rarely does such a concept work so well. Every element here is in perfect alignment and if there is one single thing that stands out about Kali Yuga Bizarre, it is the sheer intensity.

It is also incredibly hard to classify. It is black metal with industrial influences for simplicity's sake but that really fails miserably to prepare an inexperienced listener with what they are in store for. I can think of nothing to either compare or contrast this album to, and as such, really have no guidelines for recommending this to someone. It is truly an experience all its own. Some songs are almost pure black metal while others are mostly electronic based (but do not sound like techno). There is even a track that is only spoken (or shouted) word, accompanied by a choir and a few notes from a church organ.

But make no mistake, there is not a second of filler on this entire work. I always listen to this album from start to finish, never growing bored or hunting for the skip button. The music is very deep, constructed of several layers of sound on top of sound. This creates an atmosphere where there is constantly something new to discover on subsequent plays. Perhaps the complexity of Kali Yuga Bizarre is its only downfall; but even this is a positive factor once becoming familiar with the material.

All the instruments are played exceptionally well. The riffs are aggressive and enjoyable, well constructed black metal passages. The bass is audible (amazingly enough) and adds a lot to the depth of the songs, which are in a lower, less treble driven range than most black metal. The electronic elements are very prominently featured but simply add to the incredible, futuristic, almost post-apocalyptic atmosphere. Even though a drum machine is used, it is very classy and doesn't detract as they tend to do when not used tastefully.

The best thing about this album is without doubt, the vocals! The vocal performances on this album are absolutely mind blowing. The vocal duties are actually handled by two individuals with unique, distinguishable voices - Yorga S.M and Attila Csihar. Attila needs no introduction if you know anything about extreme metal. His voice here is distinct, filled with the trademark low tones and coated in his thick, vampire-esque Hungarian accent. I am a huge fan of Attila's work and he doesn't disappoint here. However I have to point out that his presence on Kali Yuga Bizarre is totally and completely bittersweet.

Yorga S.M's only known work (aside from Aborym's impossible to find Antichristian Nuclear Sabbath demo tape) is presented here on six tracks. I cannot find the words to convey how disappointing this is. Yorga's voice is also one of a kind. His delivery is filled with such passion and emotion, and he simply has one of the best voices I have ever heard in extreme metal. He apparently vanished completely from the metal scene (and music in general as far as anyone knows). Attila's presence would be much more enjoyable if it was a guest appearance, or if Yorga had joined another band at the very least. It's a shame that so many people might shy away from this without ever hearing it -- as Aborym is often classified as too extreme for industrial fans and too electronic for metalheads without being given a chance.

I won't bother with giving a song by song here as all are amazing, but I will point out Roma Divina Urbs. It is my favorite song, and that is a very heavy declaration for someone as consumed by music as I am. It is the longest track on this album with the synth having a background role and a more symphonic feel. It begins with a ghostly symphonic fanfare and the first half of the song is great but standard black metal with English lyrics. The song is then bridged in the middle by a melodic interlude with clean vocals and completed with an epic piece at the end in passionately screamed Italian. The latter half also features the best riff of the entire album, which has a depressive, sorrowful feel to it. Roma Divina Urbs is like two really great black metal songs linked by a similar theme, focusing on the glory of ancient Rome. Yorga shows a lot of range and diversity here and I can't seem to tire of this track no matter how many times I listen to it. This is the most intense song of the album and rarely have a heard a song that could convey such a strong picture of anger and despair. I would do just about anything for more of this.

All in all this album is great from start to finish and is essential for those searching for something a little different and unique against an endless sea of generic black metal bands. However keep an open mind as this is a complex album that demands your attention and is not for those simply seeking something to play inconspicuously in the background.

Futuristic black metal - 82%

Peregrin, December 30th, 2004

This album is very varies. There's both ambient atmospheric stuff as well as more traditionally metal parts, the last most clearly present on the aptly-titled eight track "Metal Striken Terror Action". It's all more complex than usual for black metal with lots of rhythm changes, the faster parts having a distinct death metal flavour.

Two vocalists are employed. For the most part it's one Count Yorga, who later left the band, but on some songs we have a certain Attila Csihar, best known for his work on Mayhem's "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas". Though their styles are very different, both are good at sounding like a choir of lost souls trapped in an netherworldy vortex of living flames which warp the forms of all withing their grasp. Yorga uses a rather standard Quorthon-ish rasp, occassionally bordering on clean vocals. Attila Csihar's rather unique vocals are somewhat difficult to describe, but they can be called a guttural, caustic hybrid between moaning, screeching and a demonic growl. Two thirds through the song "Darka Mysteria" he also does a good ghost-like shriek.

What deserves attention too is the use of keyboards by Malfeitor Fabban to create the distinct atmosphere that holds the album together and makes it stand out from the crowd: One associated with I get when listening to this is a beautiful futuristic nightmare landscape where the borders between flesh, machinery and the spiritual have blurred significantly. Think of H. R. Giger's paintings or the movie "Videodrome" and you should have an idea what this album is like as an experience.

So, what makes this less than perfect? I can't really say... perhaps it's because it's a bit demanding of the listener to listen to either. Its personality also means it's not an album for everyone either.

Unearthly - 90%

dmerritt, August 19th, 2003

Aborym's debut album, Kali Yuga Bizarre, is outdone in intensity only by the band's subsequent releases. On this one, they are a quintet, comprised of vocalist Yorga, bassist/effects man Malfeitor Fabban, guitarists Sethlans and Nisrok, and, of course, Attila Csihar, who is most known for his work on Mayhem's, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, but only lends his services to three tracks here.

There are industrial refrains on this album, namely on track two, 'Horrenda Peccata Christ', but this is pure and true Black Metal. Even the evil ambience of 'Hellraiser' is, despite its prophetic, futuristic overtones, a wicked slab of blasting BM, and the following track, 'Roma Divina Urbs' includes some clean chorus parts that contrast the rest of the album, displaying an anthemesque, Emperor-like grandness. The elctronic elements are not omnipresent, but succeed in penetrating the wall of noise at precisely the right moments, preventing redundancy.

'Tantra Bizarre' is a breakbeat instrumental, and 'Come Thou Long Expected Jesus' is an heretical melding of a somber Roman Catholic hymnal and a provocative spoken-word piece. These non-metal snippets add context and direction to the album as a whole. Next comes 'Metal Stricken Terror Action', a more direct Death/Thrash assault that flows seamlessly into the symphonic album outro, 'The First Four Trumpets.' And, just like that, it's all over.

All in all, this album is a refreshing collection of different moods and sounds. In that sense, Aborym bears a certain resemblance to Abruptum, besides the fact that they sound nothing alike. The latter succeeded in capturing (in the words of the late Oystein Aarseth) 'pure black evil', with ambience conveying mood and atmosphere. The former takes these principles to a new extreme, while adding elements of ever-evolving electronica.