Warthur Abigor's second album finds them taking an intriguing, almost operatic approach to black metal which stands in stark contrast to the symphonic synthesiser-supported style that was explored at around the same time by the likes of Dimmu Borgir. Rather than broadening the variety of instruments used, Abigor instead added complexity to their music by crafting intricate riffs which seem simple enough to a casual listener but when you direct your attention to them they prove to have plenty of hidden depths. Gloriously atmospheric, as the best black metal should be, the album shows a band who have that rare combination of qualities: a willingness to experiment on the one hand and a refusal to be show-offy about it on the other hand, though this is a rough sketch of a style others would take further.

Wilytank As I sit here with pen in hand and Abigor's 'Nachthymnen (From the Twilight Kingdom)' being channeled from my iPod into my ears, a thought dawns to me: for a band that seems to be so straightforward, Abigor aren't all that easy to digest. I've listened to 'Verwustung / Invoke the Dark Age' before, and even now I can't really form a solid opinion on that album; but that's a review for a different date. I did give a few songs from 'Verwustung' another listen to dscern a few differences between that album and 'Nachthymnen'. What I can safely say is that 'Nachthymnen' is better produced and puts for emphasis on keyboards. Mind you, 'Verwustung' had keyboards as well, but 'Nachthymnen' the make themselves more at home. I guess they have to be if you want to give your album a subtitle like 'From the Twilight Kingdom' (*chuckles to self*).

You know what? The reason why Abigor are more difficult to digest than some other black metal bands is because they put so much time into writing riffs. To test this theory, I listened to "Unleashed Axe Age" and "Reborn Through the Gate of Three Moons" one more time; I counted around ten individual riffs in the former and around 14 individual riffs plus two acoustic riffs in the latter. And these songs are only around six minutes long as opposed to another black metal song with a similar length like Mayhem's "Freezing Moon" which only had around 5 riffs in the song. Abigor may seem like a run-of-the-mill black metal band at a distance; but after picking the song apart like I just did, the music writers seem like very overlooked geniuses. Granted this is still black metal; it has the production, melodic style, and atmosphere of 90's black metal. Abigor just provided more proof that there's more to the genre than the cliched kvltic nonsense that outsiders perceive.

The atmosphere served up on this album compliments the guitar work here very well. There's keyboards, timpani, bells, acoustic guitar, and female vocals. these elements are used in exactly the right way to portray the mystical atmosphere of this Twilight Kingdom. None of them are used excessively, and I would not classify this album as primarily symphonic black metal. Even the keyboards are used sparingly; when I said they were more emphasized, I meant easier to hear).

In the end, I'm going to sincerely say that I really enjoy this album. If you don't pay attention to it, it will just go in one ear and out the other; but this album is very special when you really get into it. Abigor are very good at what they do, and are definitely triumphant in portraying it with these Nacht-hymns.