Abigor - Totschlager (A Saintslayer's Songbook) - CD DIGIPAK

„Totschläger“ isn´t exactly „Nachthymnen part II“, still there are plenty of equally majestic moments. Singling out more references, some listeners will even draw a line back to „Orkblut“ at some parts, while other spots are reminiscent of “Opus IV”s strange and otherworldly aspect.
Make no mistake, this is the same fully developed outfit here which brought you the powerful wall-of-sound assault of „Leytmotif Luzifer“ - and maybe, this is the best way to superficially describe ABIGOR´s 2020 recording: a mixture of Leytmotif´s fat, precisely riffing up-to-date Black Metal united with the mood, spirit and sometimes even arrangements and instrumentation of their trademark 1990s works.

The atmosphere captured on this new release has also opened up from the strictly apocalyptic darkness which contemporary Black Metal more and more embodies almost exclusively, to let those 1980s Metal influences in which have almost been buried in the 90s - be it the the melodic guitarwork or the uplifting, „into the battle“ kind of parts, which were always present in the old days. Therefore, the whole broad spectrum which 90s BM once offered, has been resurrected for „Totschläger“. Riff-based heaviness like the opener Gomhorra Rising (the verses composed as a bow to Euronymous´ eternal regency for such style), slow melancholic hymns like Guiding The Namelss, or ultra-fast devastation like Terrorkommando Eligos - a song which puts every self-declared Panzerführer right into primary school.

Modern symphonic libraries and orchestral samples have been shunned, instead, old-school keyboards bring back an ancient BM feeling, but there is more, almost Power Metal style influences on Orkblut and Tartaros Tides, and rest assured, the complex, sophisticated or progressive strength of ABIGOR is also blazing through at any given moment.

Crowned by the varied voice - or rather, the countless voices - of Silenius, who is again in unchallenged form and presents us with memorable refrains and hymnic choruses rarely heard before in such way.