Year: 2019 / 2023 (this release)
Label: Заиндевевшая Рябина
Rating: 5 / 10
Finally, I got to the last release from the promotional package of Frosty Rowan label. And coincidentally, “Curse of the Ancient Abyss" is perhaps the worst of all, in a general sense, even worse than SLAVIC FRONT, despite a little higher rating. I'll tell about it below.
It's worth starting with the fact that NIGHT ABYSS has been around (intermittently) since 2003, but the band only started releasing their first singles in 2018 (although there was supposedly some kind of demo in 2007). The original promo version in 2019 included three songs. The cassette edition has two times more content. But it doesn't help much. Almost immediately, it became obvious to me that NIGHT ABYSS is a typical Russian band from the time of its founding. When creating music, its authors tried to combine everything they liked, so here you can hear the influence of MARDUK and BEHEMOTH of the early 2000s, but at the same time see the most traditional Black Metal image and references to Nordic mythology. And, as it always was in those days, NIGHT ABYSS did it (and other things) without the slightest hint of good taste and understanding.
I'll explain. The first half of the tape (the original promo of 2019) is a collection of rather malicious, but terribly boring material. It's an evil hammering with a certain amount of ”MORBID ANGEL-like“ (or ”BEHEMOTH-like") heavy riffs and an alternation of nasty mid-tone and very nasty high-pitched vocals. Seriously, I'd be embarrassed to no end if I had to squeal like that. The recording quality, to be honest, is shit, because there is noise and clanging everywhere - in a negative sense. The guys aren't playing very smoothly either. But still, their style of play is probably the only thing worthy of praise. After all, NIGHT ABYSS tries to play ambitiously and in a variety of ways, inventing some kind of riffs instead of going the easy way and playing endless “squares” ad nauseam. They lack skill - at least on these recordings - but they make up for it with their onslaught. As for the semantic content... I don't even want to talk about lyrics. It will be enough to quote the band's official press release: “The cult of dark Art has come to life and continues to wreak havoc on false social dogmas”. Dear musicians, what kind of "cult" are you? What are the "social dogmas", and what does this have to do with Black Metal (and NIGHT ABYSS claims to be Black Metal)? With all this stuff, it doesn't surprise me that the promo wasn't a success, and it wasn't until 5 years later that the band ended up on ... Sound Age Prods. There is simply nothing more cult than that. If a band that claims to be Black Metal wants to destroy its scenic credibility, destroy forever, then it should sign to Sound Age. After that, not a single ideological listener will look in its direction.
The second half of the tape is more interesting. It includes another independent track and two covers. The single "Demonic Lunar Spell" is a very simple and rabid MARDUK-like thing, and it only benefits from its simplicity. If it weren't for the disgusting vocals, everything would be wonderful. A cover of SUMMONING's "Through The Forest of Dol-Guldur" pleasantly impressed me. I don't like SUMMONING, but the NIGHT ABYSS cover sounds great, with all the right accents. Either NIGHT ABYSS chose the song well, or in fact they are just better in this style. The last track is an absurdity called "Death", and it's a cover of the kitschy folk metal band СМУТА. From the point of view of sound, it's very good. But what's the point? Its presence is further proof that NIGHT ABYSS' claims on Black Metal cannot be taken seriously. Can you imagine BLACKDEATH recording a cover of PAGAN REIGN? The question is rhetorical. That's why BLACKDEATH is a cult, and NIGHT ABYSS doesn't have a chance to become one.
The cassette edition of "Curse of the Ancient Abyss" catches the eye with the black-and-white solidity of the visual style and a nightmare from the past in the form of the release name printed in "runic" script. Inside you can find the band's line-up and brief information on each track. They didn't add any lyrics, and that's probably a good thing. Details on a video.
