Orkblut - The Retaliation

There are some bands that seem to progress at an accelerated velocity, where significant leaps are made from one album to another in such a short space of time, that it barely seems credible that they can have had the opportunity to internalise the lessons of the previous recording in time to turn theory into practice for its follow-up. At the risk of over-exaggerating Abigor’s development from their debut Verwüstung / Invoke The Dark Age to it’s follow-up, barely a year later, I would posit that they are one such band. Perhaps the improvements made between that record and Orkblut – The Retaliation are not quite enough to persuade the more critical listener, but even if that were the case, the ground traversed in four short years from the debut to the virtually flawless Supreme Immortal Art is surely the clincher for this particular argument. One imagines that there are two main factors at play here. Firstly, although Verwüstung may have been the band’s first official release, they had already issued a spate of demos prior to its recording, and indeed these demo tracks continue to pop up (some in reworked forms) throughout their early career. This meant that not only had the band gone through the difficult trial and error process of discovering how best to translate their inspirations into musical form, but that they were also sitting on an extensive cache of ideas to mine for their early full-lengths, like extreme metal prospectors with a very precise map. When this is overlaid with the fact that, at least in the rather niche world of underground esoteric music, black metal was both literally and figuratively catching fire, one can imagine that finding oneself in the eye of a cultural tornado might create exactly the kind of crucible needed to forge such art, in the kind of fevered activity that many of the bands of the time were stimulated into. Bands of the time excluding Thorns, of course, who took several (admittedly incarceration-interrupted) years to produce a single incredible album, which has sadly not been supplemented by a follow-up in the two decades since its release.

Although it is, in many ways, a similar album to its predecessor, at the same time, Orkblut takes everything that was good about Verwüstung and supercharges it, while at the same time adding a degree of coherence and fluidity that allows the songs to feel more natural, and less contrived. As good as many of the individual moments were on the previous album, listening to it is a little like walking into a newly constructed house, which has not yet been decorated. The structural integrity is sufficient, the floors, walls and ceilings are all intact, but the joins are visible, and the services are exposed for all to see. The months between the debut and its follow-up have allowed Abigor the time to paint the walls and hide the pipes and wires, and even add a touch or two of luxury. This time, the listener can enjoy the full force of the Abigor barrage, with less awareness and visibility of how it’s been assembled, and this allows for a fuller immersion in their dark and evil world.

Their dark and evil world seems to be something that Abigor have applied a substantial level of diligence to creating on Orkblut, and the album as a whole benefits hugely from this attention to detail. The sub-title of their debut, Invoke The Dark Age, was perhaps coined more in hope than expectation, as if to instruct the listener to experience the album in a specific way, but on Orkblut, this is something that they come much closer to achieving. It is partially achieved through the structure of the album, which deliberately connects each metal track to the next by way of short interludes. It is not uncommon for black metal albums to utilise dark ambient segments to add atmosphere to their music, but that is not what is happening here. Although the interludes are largely synth-based, they develop clear melodic ideas, and utilise tonal choices and harmonic intervals that enhance the medieval feel of the album. This is most literally seen on the excellent ‘Medieval Echoes’, which roots the band right back into the foundations of classic metal in the way in which it recalls ‘Orchid’, from Black Sabbath’s none-more-classic Master Of Reality. On an album as earth-shatteringly heavy as that record, ‘Orchid’ reflects a timeless quality on to the band’s apocalyptic doom, somehow connecting it to the elemental forces of creation, as if Sabbath are channelling the movement of the tectonic plates, and pushing these world-rending forces through their instruments. ‘Medieval Echoes’ does the same thing, suggesting a lone minstrel telling a sorrowful tale, accompanied by his lute, at least until the short track develops the main figure, adding deft melodies, interweaving a spellbinding web of sound over swelling orchestral keyboards, and once again underscoring Abigor’s level of ambition, an ambition that their capabilities are rapidly rising to meet.

Although the more structured use of the predominantly instrumental interludes does a superb job of setting the mood, and enriching the overall atmosphere, the album of course ultimately lives and dies by the quality of the metal tracks, and in this respect Orkblut is certainly not found wanting. On the whole, the album transcends a slightly under-powered production, due to the quality of the material, which takes the brilliance found in patches on its predecessor, and stretches it out across much longer passages of music. Although the kind of tinny sonics that characterise the album sound in retrospect like the kind of black metal shibboleth that is now a staple of the genre, one suspects that for a band as visionary as Abigor, this was as much a necessity as it was a choice, the equipment available to a niche underground metal band in 1995 not being quite what it is today. The prevailing musical themes see Abigor piling neoclassical riffs and melodies on top of one another almost to breaking point, separated by serrated flurries of more conventional tremolo work. The savage guitars are expertly underpinned, as always, by T.T.’s hyperactive drum performance, which mixes a furious and unabating double-bass battery, with churning tom rolls and quickfire fills. Where Verwüstung only really had one instance of elite, unparalleled magic though – the dramatic riff that lights up ‘Weeping Midwintertears’ – virtually every track on Orkblut features sections that match this for quality. ‘Bloodsoaked Overture’ pulls off the trick twice in two minutes, firstly with an unforgettable mid-tempo riff that cuts its way mercilessly through the synth backdrop, and then again when a climbing melody builds a majestic path heavenwards over a scaffolding of half-time rhythms, which unusually for the band, allows space for the captivating guitar figures to dominate what is usually a dense and claustrophobic mix.

Across the majority of the album, reference points are broadly similar to their debut – the whirlwind symphonic black metal of early Emperor, Satyricon and Limbonic Art, but Abigor’s take on this sound is set apart by the familiar, and slightly haphazard way in which percussion and synth effects jump in and out of the mix, which brings a satisfyingly warped aesthetic to the Abigor sound. This is perfectly aligned with their chaotic aesthetic, and also prevents them for ever getting too close to the more sanitised symphonic sound that was perhaps the inevitable result of the growing popularity of the sub-genre in the late 1990s / early 2000s. The embodiment of this is the utterly bizarre and impenetrable screed of what sounds like backwards-masked guitars that introduces the otherwise monumental ‘Battlefield Orphans’. Perhaps this is Abigor’s own nod to the ‘Satanic panic’ of the 1980s, during which a number of metal acts were accused of inserting secret messages into their music, designed to initiate unsuspecting youths into the occult, although if this were the case, it would be rather superfluous, given that fact that Abigor are not exactly trying very hard to hide their anti-Christian allegiances. With or without this strange initial bombardment though, ‘Battlefield Orphans’ would represent the high point of Orkblut. The initial mid-tempo, slightly dissonant surge is solid enough, recalling early Burzum, particularly with Silenius’s howling screeches placed high in the mix. However, following a transition through a section layered with spectral voices, which add an intriguing texture, an utterly exultant classic metal melody carries the song into a glorious new realm, before the guitars drop out altogether, the same melody carried only by the synths, creating a moment of wonder in which the the beauty of the refrain becomes truly apparent, stripped of the band’s usual bombast, before the drums and crunching guitars join in once more through to the conclusion of a masterful track. The band’s versatility is further demonstrated by the ease with which jackhammer death metal riffs, strangely close to the kind of barrelling rampages that pepper early Amon Amarth albums, are integrated into the otherwise raging black metal of ‘The Rising Of Our Tribe’ and the closing track proper, ‘Severance’, which is an exhilarating blast of pure speed, generally unencumbered by the convoluted complexity and stop-start changes of much of Abigor’s material, showing that they are equally as proficient in dealing in rudimentary orthodoxy as they are confounding with intricacy, when the mood takes them.

This particular version of Orkblut is reinforced by a 1995 recording of an old demo track, ‘Shadowlord’, which did not feature on the original pressing of the album. It’s difficult to see why it did not feature on any of the band’s contemporaneous albums, representing, as it does, the perfect consolidation of everything at which Abigor excel, together with the fascinating addition of a clean baritone vocal, which supplements the band’s black metal attack, as well as giving rise to the amusing image of a corpse-painted Peter Steele adding his significant presence to the Austrians’ ranks. The inclusion of ‘Shadowlord’ only bolsters the calibre of an already extremely good record though, and there are very few serious criticisms to level at something that is both reassuringly a product of its time, and also an enduring example of the appeal of mid-90s black metal. The odd twists and turns of the band’s idiosyncratic approach to composition and arrangement adds mystery and intrigue, but never at the expense of razor-sharp, scything riffs, and raw aggression, and even the interludes augment the flow of the album, rather than destroying it in its tracks. Camus said that retaliation is a product of nature and instinct, it is not a concept that is contemplated by law. Similarly, Abigor’s own Retaliation is a product of their chaos and disorder, and by following their own instincts, and remaining true to their nature, the band produced a second album of domineering might and magnificence.

First published here:
https://alifetimeofmusic537956501.wordpress.com/2022/01/20/abigor-orkblut-the-retaliation-2/

Early Abigor had a weakness for bilingually titled outputs and sometimes this kind of acceptable duplicity was reflected in their musical approach as well. “Orkblut – The Retaliation” combines Summoning-compatible interludes with pretty puristic stuff. Of course, the parallels to the masters of Austrian epic black metal are by no means just a matter of chance. Silenius was omnipresent at the mid-nineties. Pazuzu, Die Verbannten Kinder Evas and, of course, Abigor and Summoning were his manifold fields of activity. But “Orkblut…” is not mainly shaped by the monumental keyboard lines that became the trademark of Summoning after their halfway metallic debut. The EP with the almost hardcore-compatible technical data (eleven songs in less than 25 minutes) outlines the pristine understanding of black metal. There is an extreme misanthropic momentum in the art of Abigor which is also mirrored by the totally anti-commercial sound. The production generates a nebulous aura. Do not expect powerful drums or a clearly defined overall appearance, but a mix that fits the music very well. Moreover, the nagging of the lead vocalist expresses this kind of well-considered hatred that lends the music the final diabolical touch.

The occult atmosphere of “Orkblut…” is ignited by dark melodies (enjoy the central part of “Bloodsoaked Overture”) that surprisingly combine almost soft tones with a proper background blackness. The timpani at the beginning of the first “complete” song, the programmatically titled “The Rising of Our Tribe”, builds a bridge to “Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age” from 1994, but it’s not only this instrument that reminds the listener of the preceding full-length. “Orkblut…” shows the band on the same evolution level as “Verwüstung…” without – almost needless to say - any signs of lame stagnation. The Austrian trio handles the different colours of its sound masterfully and so the rather shy parts and the wicked sequences form a really astonishing, monolithic unit. “Orkblut…” is one of these releases that make one thing very clear. It does not always need extreme vehemence in order to unleash the forces of evil. In terms of black metal, true and authentic spirituality is of higher importance, even though a robust musical basic structure is of very high relevance as well. Combining both leads to songs like “The Soft and Last Sleep”, where a dreamy keyboard break is extremely well embedded into its sinister and vigorous surrounding.

Just like “Verwüstung…”, the here reviewed EP, full-length or whatever is a trip back in time. A time, when my first love called thrash metal was in a comatose state. A time, when the ambivalent evolution of black metal, the mutation from a fascinating underground phenomenon to a mass movement of partly incompetent fools and hobby-Crowleys, had not yet begun. And honestly speaking, the later evolution of Abigor also did not make me happy. But that’s another story. So let’s enjoy “Orkblut…” with ist mostly great compositions and its genuine feeling without a tear in the eye.

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.

A shorter piece in Abigor's long career, Orkblut also remains a highlight. The album tells a story of a Pagan warrior rising up with his tribe to fight and die in battle, bringing a nihilistic resolve to his story that much like Cuchulain he shall fall and perish but shall destroy his enemies until his death. The music that flows through this concept revolves between fast paced shifting black metal attacks, acoustic and ambient breakdowns and some slower paced more melodic or moody sections. Interestingly the breakdown of the recording is such that though each piece is a seperate track, it is almost impossible to listen to it as anything less then a piece in of itself.

Beginning with the Prophecy which sets the stage of the record, we go into the Overture, which actually carries pieces of the emotion and notes of every section of the recording. After another interlude we go into the true heart of the album with The Rising of Our Tribe. Silenius' vocals are a highlight of this album, as they are on nearly anything he is on. His screams seem to come from some beyond, filled with anguish and hatred.

Every song on this EP seem to take turns and pathways that are at times unexpected, and yet they always seem to flow together, which seperates them from some bands with a similar, more technical style. Like Emperor's early works (particularly In the Nightside Eclipse) Abigor manage to integrate a fine whole into smaller pieces, and a fluid songwriting aesthetic.

Keyboard work, when used is effective, and is often most effective because they do not overload their songs with keyboards. They are used to highlight certain moments, or to add dramatics to the sections that need it. I feel the ambient and acoustic interludes provide a great clue to the atmosphere of the recording, like Ulver's Bergtatt or Satyricon's Dark Medieval Times, the acoustic/ambient sections manage to create a breathing space to let the mind wander into the fantasy world the band seeks to create. I believe the keyboards and in particular the ambient sections were done by Tharen, ex-vocalist and leader of Dargaard, which explains the high quality of all these pieces.

The combination of melodic, epic and blasting, at times atonal guitar riffs, all usually in one song, was not new to Abigor, and yet they had a way of refining it down to an art, creating black metal that truely reached a different higher level then many bands could ever approach. Their works are often neo-classical in its layers of composition, but they combine such artistry with also a love of hateful blasts of noise, which is in my opinion the place metal should be for the most part, somewhere between artistry and noise, with always with a sense of style, consistency and songwriting.

The atmosphere of the album is of a dark medieval past, paganism rising again, and a beauty in warfare. As such it represents much of what black metal should. A combination of the ancient and the modern, which is also reflected in composition. Most will hopefully find as much to like in this work as I do, but it requires careful listening, and an open mind. It took me a few listens to understand and enjoy all parts of this EP. It may be short, but it is a mighty recording.

This album is excellent, but can hardly be defined as metal in the usual sense. This is like Burzum's "Det Som Engang Var" album, but with even more ambient breaks. Abigor has managed to compose an album that encompasses the best of traditional music, ambient music and black metal. As long as you ignore the corny intro, you'll enjoy this album thoroughly. The black metal riffs are amazing, but what I find stands out more is the ambient tracks, which fit in the atmosphere almost seamlessly.

This album is around 25 minutes, and I believe this is the perfect length. While Abigor could have released this as a single track, I think it's almost more logical to break it up into pieces. This is probably what I would consider the epitome of ambient black metal. The ambient songs are moody and gloomy, while the black metal songs are extremely energetic, yet carry the same mood very well. There are no immediate flaws that can be found in this album, yet at 25 minutes, it gets old if listened to too often. It's quite the journey, but attempts to stick the concept right in your face, as though the atmosphere wasn't enough. While I believe the song titles and lyrics to be redundant, the songs are solid, which is what counts, I suppose.

Extremely melodic, as moody and atmospheric as possible, "Orkblut - The Retaliation" is an amazing piece.

Yes, Abigor. My first introduction to these Austrian horde was by the "Satanized" album, which I didn't like at all. But anyway, I picked up this release at the 7 dollar bin on a rainy day, not really expecting anything from it.

Well, think again. This disc represents some of the most powerful and epic tracks ever to be heard. "Orkblut, the Retaliation" is subtitled "Storming Onwards on Pagan Paths". The entire album is concept based, and it's about the life of a pagan warrior, from his birth until his death. To quote the booklet: ""Storming Onwards on Pagan Paths" is the story of a warrior who remembers his pagan origins which inflame his heart. It shows his life from the day he rises, his feelings and his last battle, until his death and the severance of flesh and spirit."

But, on to the music. Track 1, "The Prophecy", is a track which features spoken words, which tell about the pagan tribe our warrior is about to join. After the spoken prophecy comes a well performed flute piece which has a very catchy melody.

Track 2, "Bloodsoaked Overture", is a track which immediately starts off with the war drum alike drum sound, which I like so much, guided by a good guitar riff. This track features no lyrics.

Track 3, "Remembering Pagan Origins", is a keyboard piece which is supposed to represent a pagan athmosphere. But I'm not running warm for this one, I have to admit.

Track 4, "The Rising of our Tribe", is the first 'real' track on the CD. Like track 2, it starts off with the wardrums, moves on to top speed, and at halftime follows some sort of interlude. A classic guitar piece supported by electric guitar, pretty nice. Last piece of the track, Abigor give all they can which expresses itself in a furious and fast piece of music.

Fifth track, "Medieval Echoes". A piece played on the classic guitar, which I think is rather boring. But in a way, it fits in perfectly with the rest.

Track number 6 then. "Emptiness/Menschenfeind/Untamed Devastation". As you can see, this track exists of 3 different pieces. The first one, "Emptiness" is a 20 second piece played on a keyboard, and this track I totally adore. It has a really bombastic and orchestral feeling to it. "Menschenfeind" is sort of a prelude to the chaos yet to come. It's a midtempo track, not really all that special. "Untamed Devastation", that's where the chaos really begins. Fury all the way, and I like it very much.

Seventh track, "..To the Final Strike". I don't really like it, for me this song doesn't express what it's supposed to express. It sounds rather cheer- and joyful, and it doesn't really fit in the atmosphere of a coming battle.

"Battlefield Orphans", track no. 8, I like very much. It's very epic and majestic, high speed black metal mixed with keyboards and slow parts. Normally I'm not that much of a keyboard fan but Abigor seems to be in perfect control of it, without overdoing it.

Track number 9, "The Soft and Last Sleep", is a fourty second good performed piece of keyboard music, which fits perfectly in the atmosphere.

"Severance", track no. 10, is the final real track on the album. I even notice a cool thrash-alike riff around the end, supported by the famous war-drums. It even has a solo in it.

The last track, "Langsam verhallte des Lebens Schmerz", is a really good piece of flute music. It is meant as a sort of 'goodbye', and hereby ends this 25 minute during onslaught.

On the whole, some tracks didn't really interest me, but all those less interesting tracks fit in perfectly with the rest. Overall a great, majestic and epic album, and in my opinion, Abigor's best offering.

The tracklist of Abigor's second studio effort, "Orkblut - The Retaliation", is somewhat deceiving. With 11 tracks, anyone would think it's a full length we have here. That's because the song duration is not listed on the back cover. The truth is that "Orkblut" is a MCD clocking at around 25 minutes. Maybe if the duration would have been shown on the case many would turn away in disappointment, and they couldn't make a worse move.
This MCD is one of the most brilliant chapters in Abigor's career, and an unique offering in its own splendour.

Subtitled "Storming Onwards on Pagan Paths", "Orkblut" is the musical translation of a concept: the story of a pagan warrior which (re)discovers the origins of the pride and culture of his people and leads his tribe onwards into war, until he himself dies a glorious death in battle and finds tranquliity in the soft and last sleep. While the story may not be extremely original, it sets a very stimulating background for Abigor to unleash their creativity.

While the "complete" songs are only four, the album is full of instrumentals and interludes which create a great effect in terms of atmosphere. "Orkblut" may be best described as a single composition divided into 11 skippable tracks, which is obviously best enjoyed and understood through a single listening session. "Orkblut" is a concept mini album, a metal opera compressed in less than half an hour, something which stands unparalleled in Black Metal as far as my knowledge goes.

Even the aforementioned songs, however, have a shorter duration compared to Abigor's standards, but despite it they still manage to showcase many different moods and riffs as usual. Each of them fits the concept perfectly but could easily stand on its own, also thanks to this shortness which underlines the intensity and makes the stucutures less dispersive: "The Rising of Our Tribe" shows Abigor's talent in combining blasting assaults to moodier passages; "Emptiness / Menschenfeind / Untamed Devastation" is, as the title suggests, a three-part piece comprised of a beautiful keyboard introduction which turns to a guitar riff, an acoustic interlude and a furious grand finale; "Battlefield Orphans" is the perfect tune for war with its fast, breathless pace, and finally "Severance" shows an almost thrashy approach to speedy riffs.

The rest of the material is what holds the concept together and makes "Orkblut" a listening experience without a single moment of quality drop, a full immersion in the medieval and pagan atmosphere. These interludes feature beautiful acoustic guitars and flutes, narrated vocals and even ambient-like keyboard textures provided by the band's ex-member Rune / Tharen. Particularly amazing is "Bloodsoaked Overture", a great Black Metal instrumental which begins right after the first track, the introductory "The Prophecy", and evolves as a whirlwind of razor sharp riffs and thunderous drums.

This MCD is one of Abigor's best offerings and a courageous, norm-defying creation which should not be overlooked. Just let it carry you away into its ancient pagan atmosphere.