A Fragment ov the Great Work

How must one review an album? Truly often enough, an album will scream "I am brilliant" or "I am mediocre" from the start. Others, like this one, will have elements of both, and becomes pretty difficult to fairly rate as a result. With that in mind, let me say that the rating is based on an 'average' of everything great, and not-so-great about Abbey Ov Thelema's full-length, 'A Fragment Ov The Great Work'. Here is a Slovakian black metal project, best known as an off-shoot of the band Nevaloth. Here, Delgrast and Vilosof have been brave enough to venture into avant-garde territory with their black metal. As others have done before, this generally involves a quirky electronic element in the music. The avant-garde quirk is given a psychotic edge by its fusion into the black metal that Abbey Ov Thelema create here, and the results are ultimately mixed. Although these are two musicians who are both most versed in black metal, it is actually the experimental side of Abbey Ov Thelema's work that prevails over the harsher edge.

It would not be out of place to place Abbey Ov Thelema in the same symphonic black metal boat as Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, or even early Cradle Of Filth. Keyboards are the most standout instrument, as well as the most diverse. Although its easy to predict the raw guitar strumming or mechanical drum programming, a listener will be bombarded by a series of weird key sounds within the course of one song. Many black metal fans should be turning away at this point; after all, the guitars are the main point of black metal. Where Abbey Ov Thelema really succeeds however is that the use of keyboards never feels cheesy. I was often reminded here of the fellow Eastern European band Master's Hammer, and their classic album 'The Jilemnice Occultist'. The keyboards are not simply a way to layer the sound, but they're indeed a central part of the songwriting.

Some of the experimental ideas on 'A Fragment Ov The Great Work' are incredible, and its a shame that parts of Abbey's sound seek to drag the rest down. Namely, the black metal aspect of the band ironically isn't all that great. Thankfully, Abbey Ov Thelema is just as much avant as they are black, but I never once found myself stirred by the rather amateurish black metal performance. The vocals and guitars come across as Emperor-lite, but the worst offender is the drum machine, which robs the black metal side of some intensity and emotional atmosphere. Considering the keyboard arrangements are so damned good, it's a shame that the core sound is left feeling incomplete. Regardless, I'm rarely surprised this much by an album. Throughout 'A Fragment Ov The Great Work', there is an onslaught of the weird and wonderful, and it's frankly well worth wading through the less glorious moments for.

Sometimes, you hear something that leaves you at a loss for words. Maybe because it is so fucking awesome, you can't think of a word to express the level of awesome. Maybe it was so bad, you fear speaking because vomit may be released instead of words. And maybe you are speechless because you don't know what the hell you just listened to.

A Fragment ov the Great Work fits with the latter description.

Slovakia based Abbey ov Themelma are certainly shooting for something new and unique with A Fragment ov the Great Work. black metal is certainly part of the equation, but how much of it is a bit uncertain. The album makes heavy use of keyboards and synthesizers, which may not sound all that strange off the bat. Lots of bands black metal bands make heavy use of electronic instruments, and electronic music has always fit well within black metal. What makes A Fragment ov the Great Work is strange is that this is not a slow, atmospheric and noisy affair: this album is fast, melodic and not all that inaccessible. The synth moves fast and hard, while the keyboards move at a blistering pace. Sure, things slow down from time to time, but not all that often. Guitars also seem entirely optional: some songs feature barely any guitar work at all. About the only standard thing about this album is the two-pronged vocal attack, which alternates from a shriek to a guttural grunt, while occasionally clean vocals come into play.

Trying to find a way to describe this album has been the biggest hurdle for me, but I can no long deny what this album is: blackend techno. That might sound horrible, and before I heard this album I would have agreed with you. But A Fragment ov the Great Work is not terrible. In fact, it is pretty damn good. When this album works, it works incredibly well: "Unearthly Theophagia ov a Nonexistent Deity" starts off with a blistering, pulsating beat that combines synth and a drum machine to awesome effect, before a grooving, Medieval rhythm kicks in, which is more awesome than it might sound. The whole album has a cool Medieval vibe, which I normally hate but here works well. At times, Abbey of Thelema take a more traditional route, like on "The Hidden Wisdom & Clandestine Legacy ov the Black Arts," and that song also works: dissonant, complex and with an excellent drum machine sound, the song is a nice change of pace from the Techno-fueled insanity that much of the album unleashes.

It has taken me a long time to review this album, most because I had no idea how I wanted to tackle the bands sound. A Fragment ov the Great Work is certainly one of the most unique and original albums I have heard in a good long while, but the album also delivers where many experimental albums fail. And I have no doubt that when blackend techno takes over the Rave scene in a few years, we will have Abbey of Thelema to thank.

Rating: 8.5/10

originally posted at http://curseofthegreatwhiteelephant.blogspot.com/