In Memory...

I've always been a big fan of Abigor. They're were the first Black Metal band I heard back in '97 courtesy of a mixed tape from a much older cousin. Needless to say this is, although short EP, holds up to my common Abigor standards. The EP consists of basically five 'rare' Abigor songs.

Terrible Certainty (Kreator Cover) - Superb drumming just as the original song had to offer. I'd say a good 60% of the time, intros are lame. They can be quite satisfying at times and add an awesome element to the song, but most bands abuse them into some pointless intro which you end up skipping anyway. This brings me to my point: I enjoy this intro. Like I said, the drumming is fantastic/furious. The vocals are, well, normal? Standard black metal voice.

Crionics (Slayer Cover) - A mixture between clean vocals and black vocals. Nice mixture. Very well done and a very nice cover. Headbanging, indeed. The intro I could've done without, but it doesn't take away from the song much. Killer riff.

Shadowlord - This song was originally from Abigor's first demo "Ash Nazg..." and also on the Napalm compilation "Waith Us or Against Us Vol. 1". Haunting vocals. The highlight is definitely the guitar. It builds until it hits a certain amazing point and then sticks to that point. The vocals? Well, it's very half and half. The vocals are obviously too low . They drown in and out throughout the entire song. There is obviously worse out there, too, but I've always enjoyed the vocals from Abigor and would like to hear this song with better vocal production. Towards the end the music hits a soft point of pure melodic grimness and the vocals fade back in. The lyrics are written beautifully.

Crimson Horizons - Released on "In Memory...", "Crimson Horizons" was first released on Opus IV. Heavy guitars and grim lyrics. Showing the demonic Abigor vocals that I've grown to love. Oh, yeah, and the lyrics rule. It strays from the common Black metal standard of "Wolf" this or "Pagan" that. Halfway through the vocals fade out leaving the listener with the blazing guitars. Suddenly the vocals come back with a swift rise in the music which, for me, makes me get chills. Good chills. Good "I Love Black Metal" chills. I absolutely love the drumming on here as well. Heil Moritz.

Verwüstung - This instrumental was also released before "In Memory..." on Abigor's "Apokalypse". Just another heavy instrumental. Nothing outstanding, but still well orchestrated piece of music.

Am I being biased for Abigor being my first BM band? Probably, but still, this EP is an awesome collection of covers and re-released material for true Abigor fans and BM fans alike.

Resistance is Futile!