Abbath have returned with a brand new band and album after taking a brief hiatus, featuring King ov Hell from Gorgoroth on bass and Creature from benighted on drums to deliver another barrage of black metal sounds.
This album is heavier than expected. It incorporates all the familiar Immortal elements while adding some pleasant surprises.
To War
Abbath, the Bergen-based black metal band, released their self-titled debut record with devastating speed and melodic doom metal tracks that show their musical credentials as one of Norway’s leading metal acts. Riff-maestro Abbath Doom Occulta earned his place among metal’s elite with stellar songs like Winter Bane”, Ashs of the Damned”, and To War”, that showcase his ability to combine blistering speed metal with traditional influences, black metal, rock ‘n’ roll elements – something few bands could pull off.
Olve Eikemo, more popularly known as Abbath, was formerly guitarist and vocalist for Old Funeral and Immortal before playing bass for Bombers (motorhead’s Lemmy attended one of their shows in Bergen!). On his debut album he collaborated with drummer Armagedda, Gorgoroth bassist King Ov Hell (Gorgoroth), Enslaved guitarist Arve Isdal as well as Enslaved bassist King Ov Hell (Gorgoroth). Abbath was committed to modernising black metal’s traditional doom-laden signifiers by using growling growling vocals accompanied by vital thrashing tempos and crushing riffage;
Winter Bane
Winterbane explores the brutal reality of war, delving deep into its destructive potential and the dark forces it can unleash within individuals. It paints a picture of hell on earth with references to blood-soaked grimoires and gods of war exhorting an army. Additionally, verses refer to how war can become glorified when won; its impact magnified when victorious; while choruses touch upon how history may be altered or falsified according to those with power.
This track features incredible guitar and bass solos by Abbath and King Ov Hell respectively, along with an outstanding drum performance by Creature. Production quality is top notch as the band maintains an icy focus that matches up perfectly with lyrics; also featured is a video with great close-up shots of Creature as a drummer.
Dread Reaver
Dread Reaver is a striking demonstration of Abbath’s ability to deliver pure aural assault with his signature riff-maestro skills, which come naturally since he previously fronted revered extreme metal titans IMMORTAL.
The song’s lyrics paint a dark and forlorn landscape: one in which corpses lie limp from hanging gallows while weeping beggars and orphaned children wander the streets begging. Gladius of Gehenna fill the grim arena where Gladius the Dread Reaver cannot stop his powerful assaults.
Mia Wallace (who recently joined the group in 2019) and Ukri Suvilehto’s drumming are an ideal pairing with Abbath’s guitar riffage, offering powerful bass lines from Mia Wallace as well as his drumming on outstrider. Even though Abbath may not quite reach his vocal range seen on Outstrider, his ability to combine headbanging riffage with more death growl-oriented sections remains an impressive strength of this band – listen out for raw Black Metal tracks like Septentrion as well as Metallica cover on Trapped Under Ice from these tracks show his creativity has not diminished since leaving IMMORTAL.
Final Words
Abbath returned from their brief hiatus with Outstrider, a record that established him as the undisputed leader of frostbitten pack. Metal Hammer Germany awarded it three stars while Decibel magazine applauded their creative reinvention of black metal music.
The album‘s first half will capture you with headbanging tracks such as “Winter Bane”, while some songs may just serve as average filler; even so, they’re not bad; “Fenrir Hunts” simply stands out among its many incredible tracks on this record.
Abbath is clearly an accomplished musician, as evidenced by this album. However, his vocal performances could use improvement. Instead of trying different vocal styles that all sound alike – his screamed vocals may work, but more reverb would help achieve the tortured croak this music requires; and stop trying clean singing which he fails miserably at.