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Abrahel: Implacabilis procella cupiditatis

06/12/12 || Cobal

Sometimes, even the most generic looking releases make happy surprises. Normally, I’m very skeptical when it comes to black metal releases of the underground raw type; after all, the eighties have been gone for a long, long time, uh? Also it seems as though every time that a band tries to make it big in the metal scene needs to reinvent the metal they play in order to make a good impression. Well, there are ways to do things right without desperately trying to be the ultimate and most original act ever.

Abrahel, the name of the demon they write about, are black metal from Spain, and they sure play a very traditional form of it. “Implacabilis Procella Cupiditatis” reminded me of early Emperor’s works adding some more atmospheric elements. I’ve always believed black metal, at least the one I listen to, hides a very particular kind of beauty within, and this work is a fine example of this.

While most underground acts out there are formed by amateur musicians, Abrahel hit the world with a very professional sound. No, they aren’t trying to trigger a technical subgenre here (Baphomet forbid!), yet they don’t go for the easiest thing to do relying only on tremolo picking to create that cold sound we all expect to find in an album like this. Not ONLY, they don’t; I mean the guitar work, both melodic and harmonic, does have an interesting variety of resources. Opposite to tons of other records, this makes fun interesting listening for about forty five minutes or so and it never gets boring or monotonous.

Another thing I found remarkable is bass playing. Mr. Cr6ne, a Colombian guy who now dwells in the Iberian Peninsula, plays exactly what’s needed for a minimalistic act like this one: not in a hurry melodically harmonic independent from guitar riffage bass lines! Damn, is that so fucken difficult, bassists of the world? You guys don’t need to build up the skeleton of a song by imitating the guitar riffs, you know. You let the guitars be the flesh, and focus on what really matters: providing massive grounds for the song to really rock. That’s what Cr6ne did here and he should be proud.

Now, it’s difficult to say exactly how I feel about the vocals. Something good about’em is Incuberus goes for a fairly wide gamma of tones from shrieks to growls, also including clean chants which nurture the music well. What’s also truth is that Incuberus’ shrieks at times sound rather like pig squeals, and given the musical context, they feel inappropriate. Perhaps that’s just me being touchy, I don’t know. Regarding drumming, it fits, that’s for sure, and even if it’s true there ain’t any major issue with’em, so it is the fact they are quite standard…

All in all, I found “Implacabilis Procella Cupiditatis” quite enjoyable and even interesting. It’s not the most original work I’ve listened to, but hey, which one is these days? It features all those black metal musts we all dig, and it integrates them just fine. It’s always nice to listen to a record that has an even balance of melody, riffage, bass playing, fitting drumming and interesting vocals. If I were you… Luckily, I’m not! Cheers.

Information
Released: 2012
Label: Azermedoth Records
Website: Abrahel MySpace
Band
Incuberus: vocals, guitars
Cr6ne: bass
Mythra: drums

Tracklist
01. Implacabilis Procella Cupidita
02. Sexual Slaughter
03. Nocturnal Wings
04. Existencia Maldita
05. 13 Candles
06. We are Legion
07. Adrift Souls

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