Abigor - Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age (1994)

I don't remember how or why but Abigor was one of the first black metal bands I heard years and years ago and by the blessing of Satan I'm glad it was made so since Abigor remains one of my absolute favorite bands still to this day.

After releasing no less than four demos and one promo between late '93 and during '94, 'Verwüstung / Invoke the Dark Age' struck in November and as far as I know it stood as the first real black metal release from Austria, though of course many would follow them soon enough. Abigor’s music has always been rooted in the more brutal side of the genre however this release as well as its follow-up, 'Nachthymnen (From the Twilight Kingdom)' are likely the bands most accessible recordings since things just got more brutal, malevolent, abrasive and eventually just plain weird later on.

The intricate assortment of hectic trebly melodious guitars and impressive solos, brutal diverse drumming, hellish vocals and fascinating lyrics, with a slight usage of calm acoustic guitars and haunting keyboards largely characterize this album and gives it a feeling that was quite unique at the time and different from the Scandinavian scene. Interestingly also is the fact that no bass guitar was used at all, but rather the band used some sort of layered guitar technique.

This is also Abigor at their most atmospheric since songs like, 'Universe of Black Divine' or 'Kingdom of Darkness' are mostly fast and angry whereas, 'My Soft Vision in Blood' is slower and has a haunting presence, when finally, 'Weeping Midwintertears' truly has a dark and dismal vibe to a good portion of it. The band also made use of some samples here and there to enhance the mood too. The riffs, leads and solos which are highly melodic are also something to take notice of since some of them are absolutely beautiful in their deliver, whereas others are absolutely pummeling and show more of an influence from Dissection than say Mayhem or Immortal, but things would change a few years down the road.

Throughout this entire nine song forty two minute release I find very little fault save for maybe the two instrumental keyboard tracks, which sound a little wanky, but are certainly not awful. Otherwise though all of the black metal tracks are on fire from start to finish and are absolutely impressive the whole way through.

I've enjoyed this album for over a decade now and its one of those rare gems where I felt inclined to buy it on vinyl as well when it was re-pressed a few years ago. Unfortunately though it seems still to this day this album and Abigor in general don't get the respect they rightly deserve, therefore I'd have to suggest checking out one of the finer black metal albums to be released in the early 90's.