Abigor - Totschläger (A Saintslayer's Songbook) (2020)

Seemingly out of nowhere, recently we received Abigor’s latest opus “Totschläger (A Saintslayer's Songbook)”. As one of the most diverse and deranged Black Metal albums of 2020, this release unleashes 51 minutes of madness, ranging from traditional BM to more Symphonic/Atmospheric BM territories and a few visits into Avant-garde territories. If you like weird and yet masterfully crafted BM, this is one of those albums you can’t miss.

Opening with the theatrics of “Gomorrha Rising - Nightside Rebellion”, we get an early Emperor/Limbonic Art vibe from this intense track. Alongside the pummeling drumming, we get a nice variety of vocal styles and very chaotic guitars, both of which nicely bleed into the next track, “Silent Towers, Screaming Tombs”. For those looking for dramatic arrangements and a very regal/epic vibe, “Orkblut (Sieg oder Tod)” has you covered.

One of our favorite tracks is the ravaging “The Saint of Murder” and its incisive guitar work, delivering chilling riffs alongside lush atmospherics and a rich vocal melodies. In a similar style to older Bethlehem, “Scarlet Suite For The Devil” creates a very chaotic and anxiety inducing vibe with its deranged style. This release oozes 90’s sympho/melodic BM elements as we can hear from the epic “Tartaros Tides” and “Flood of Wrath”, which took us back to the early days of BM.

Closing with the pummeling “Terrorkommando Eligos”, we are left blown away by the quality and diversity of “Totschläger (A Saintslayer's Songbook)”. Abigor’s releases are always quite interesting and this one is not the exception to the rule, showcasing tons of creativity and genre-crossing ideas. Having all kinds of elements for fans of bands like Arcturus, all the way to Immortal, this release is definitely one of the most complex and yet enjoyable releases of the year, probably sneaking into our top albums of 2020 list.

Label: World Terror Committee

Release: December 8th, 2020

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Austria