Apokalypse

The title, the visual design, the fact that the six songs were “produced and mixed in a few hours” – Abigor obviously felt the urge to release an output which was stripped down to the essentials. In particular “Nachthymnen (From the Twilight Kingdom)” had an opulent aura, now came the turnaround. Guitars, drums, vocals and a bass guitar which is hardly audible, that’s it. Compared with the multi-layered songs of outputs like “Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age”, the here presented “Apokalypse” kneels in the morass of primitiveness. Sophistication, elegance, intelligence; all of them are conspicuous by their absence. And the hollow production exactly reflects the excessive studio session… the material sounds as cheap as an old demo, the drums have a mechanical touch and the vocals with a lot of reverb on it do not reach an over-average level.

After their first works I was clear that Abigor stand for black metal, but I thought they represent another form of this multi-faceted subgenre. Here they have disguised themselves as Norwegian newcomers, but, unfortunately, very incompetent beginners who cannot create an icecold surrounding. The tracks are acceptable to a certain degree, but they are totally expressionless. Nothing keeps sticking in the ears, there are no memorable guitar parts and only every now and then a morbid atmosphere shimmers through the guitar work, for example in the first part of “Hyperwelt”, a song that suffers from its powerless break after roughly 90 seconds. It’s surely difficult to pen complex tracks, but it is not easy to write totally exposed pieces as well. With regard to the latter discipline, Abigor fail here.

Blast beats parts, a constantly diabolic yet monotonous voice and rasping guitar leads are not enough to create the typical vibes of black metal. “Apokalypse” lacks individuality. It holds vehement and brutal sounds that do not spread the slightest aura. Moreover, the entire approach does not convey a feeling of authenticity and that’s a cardinal sin in terms of black metal, at least from my point of view. Usually I am the last one who spits on straight and simple pieces, but here the music leaves a stale aftertaste. The songs are interchangeable, one-dimensional, almost robotic and therefore they lack diabolic vibrations. A little bit more thoroughness would have been necessary, but too much attention for the song-writing was obviously incompatible with the concept of “Apokalypse”. Forgive me, but I will forget this release again “in a few hours” - or even faster.

The Silenius-era Abigor was always my favorite Abigor, using catchy and beautiful melodies and occasional keyboard interludes and then combining them flawlessly with a savage ferocity that few other bands have managed to imitate.

Apokalypse is the end of this era. We still have "Supreme Immortal Art", but that one doesn't come close to what Abigor released before it, especially Apokalypse. Take this ep as the final strike of a dying beast, a beast that is close to death, but still manages to gather enough strength to deal a final killing blow. That's Apokalypse, stripping everything that is unnecessary like cheesy synth intros, overdone keyboard sections, intricate melodies, and other things.

This EP starts outright with a barrage of constant blast beats and tremolo-picked Darkthrone-like riffs fast and buzzing. After a few seconds of this savagery we are welcomed by Silenius' rage-filled vocals and here I'd like to emphasize the uniqueness of Silenius' vocals. His style is not like your average black metal vocalist as it's not a shriek or a growl, and it's not a scream neither. The vocals may not be intense or loud, yet the rage they communicate is extremely powerful and not easily forgotten.

The guitar work is usual tremolo-picked riffs with a large Darkthrone influence and there are considerably less melodic passages among the riffs, making them feel cold, grim, and violent. There is also a bit of Bathory influence here and there.

The drumming here is mostly blast beats, so there is not much variety to be found, but this is bare-bones black metal heavily influenced by Darkthrone and they had little to no variation in their music and this ISN'T a bad thing and id NOT a flaw. This is black metal and if you'd like more variation, then listen to something else.

This EP is pure relentless savagery, Abigor's finest moment, and the last roar of a dying beast. The only flaw I can find in here is that it's way too short.

After four successful releases bountiful with melody and a rewarding sense of subtle elegance, Austrian Black Metal trio Abigor opted to issue a brief discharge of simplistic and chaotic angst through this, their second EP. With a duration of just under eighteen minutes, consisting of only six songs and mixed in mere hours ‘for ultimate raw apocalyptic Black Metal listening pleasure exclusively’, this release is undeniably a truly primitive piece of work.

Opening with the furiously paced “Celestial”, the production immediately brings to mind classic Bathory and Darkthrone, yet the torturous vocals of Silenius add a more harsh and aggressive edge and lend a certain originality to the overall sound, which Abigor have always essentially possessed. However, the second track, “Verwüstung”, continues at extreme pace and is crammed full of intricate riffs played at rapid speeds…as is the third track…and the fourth…and so on. Ultimately, it becomes noticeable that this EP is substandard for such a renowned force within the Black Metal scene. A lack of variation and often lethargic arrangements lead to a relative loss of interest. The eighteen-minute running time of this release is in fact a positive aspect, as the band perhaps use this to highlight the temporary nature of their transformed direction. Evidently, by producing such a grim creation, they fulfilled their desires to rekindle the old flames of this genre, as following releases were again satiated with innovation and quality.

Whilst “Apokalypse” may appeal to Black Metal fans constantly striving for another piece of “Transilvanian Hunger”, it fails to make the same impact that previous, and indeed, later Abigor releases made. With the band’s other efforts being of such a high calibre, the need, at this stage, for such a drastic change in sound seems wholly unnecessary and questionable.

Originally written for http://www.blastwave.co.uk

After Opus IV, which was a compilation of 2 EPs, essentially, Abigor gives us...another EP. This one lacks the atmosphere of grandeur and mystery that enshrouded the aforementioned album, however, and instead contains one of hatred and desperate misery. Comparisons to the Zyklon-B mCD will immediately be drawn due to the short, rapid-paced songs and especially the vocals, which emulate Aldrahn quite well. This is not a bad thing, as Aldrahn is one of the best black metal vocalists and more vocals in his style would be appreciated by myself. Abigor retains originality here, and the complex, tremolo, flighty riffs that are the trademark of this band are ever-present. While I would not recommend this as the first Abigor release for a newcomer to buy (the grandiose, symphonic "Supreme Immortal Art" would be better for this type of individual), this mini-album has something that connoisseurs of Abigor and raw black metal alike will enjoy.

Abigor craft yet more songs of thier oftten-influential brand of complicated layered buzzing organic black metal. This release feature less keyboards than some of thier other albums (Opus IV, Nachthymen, Orkblut) but stays in a dark and majestic realm of layered melody all the same as Darkthrone-style riffs permutate and reorganize themselves amid this band's organic and at times comfusingly advanced song structure and musical aesthetic.

The vocals here are a bit more 'true' than some other releases of thiers, drawing comparisons to Atilla of Mayhem fame.

Overall, this is yet another amazing release from the middle of the career of an amazingly talented band.