Abreaction

The current trend in extreme metal is to be as massive and inaccessible as possible. For some bands, this plan backfires by not giving the listener enough inviting bits, and the album turns into a chore. After the first two spins of “Abreaction”, I found just enough to keep going and once I gave the album a bit more time… things started happening. Svart Crown keep a very even balance between atmosphere and intensity, and have several tricks up their sleeves to make this an experience.

First of all, “Abreaction” is not exactly a fast album, or at least, the fast parts don’t usually last too long. The majority of this album remains in a dense, mid-tempo frenzy of double bass, with the occasional burst of speed. No song on here is a true speedster, maybe except “Carcosa” and a good portion of “Orgasmic Spiritual Ecstasy”. The more calculated nature of this album, however, is not a bad thing, because it allows the crushing heaviness of the riffs to mesh with the atmospheric elements. It also means that when a blasting section eventually comes, it has plenty of power.

In general, this is further removed from the formula of death metal (with some black and doom elements) than “Profane”. There is a fair bit of a tribal, shamanic vibe to “Abreaction” - think a slightly toned-down Ruins of Beverast as some tracks feature chanting sections, clapping or tambourines (“Khimba Rites” being the most notable example). Kévin Paradis on the drums adopts a percussive style that suits the vibe, doing a fair bit of tom fills in slower sections. If he is not playing his ridiculously technical patterns, that is - that guy is a fucking monster behind the kit. Fast and precise, he uses his full arsenal, from complicated, fill-happy patterns to simple and straightforward beats. Kévin’s work is a definite highlight of the album.

But let’s not forget the riffs - mostly dissonant, rather long and expansive in nature. The two guitarists might not be the flashiest, but some of their stuff is extremely well written. JB Le Bail and Kevin Verlay build huge walls of guitar sounds, such as in the great closer “Nganda” and its several variations of one riff (there is even a rare solo in the opening thereof - wish they would use that more). Sometimes, they do throw the listener a bone, however - these are the moments that will become etched in your skull first. Such as the one around 3:25 in “Upon This Intimate Madness” is just a simple reminder that it is very healthy to sometimes just bang your head for a while.

Duds? Very few, actually. Some moments are just a tad overlong and meandering, and don’t really build up in an effective manner (“Transsubstantiation” starts off great and then gets boring). The vocals are somewhat pedestrian, too, and stick to a fairly regular death grunt, but they are good enough. At times, this album can also be a tiring listen due to its uninviting nature and a longer running time of 54 minutes. In the end, though, everything is redeemed by downright genius stuff - again, refer to “Upon This Intimate Madness” for its utterly devastating opening section. Or the longest song on the album, the atmospheric “The Pact: To The Devil His Due” for a chanting section leading into a fabulous doom metal break.

I think that “Abreaction” represents a different side of Svart Crown. Simply put, “Abreaction” would be worth hearing for the outstanding drumming alone, yet, there is so much more. They used the dissonance and density to conjure a very eerie atmosphere. It is quite daunting to get into it, however, almost everything about it is masterfully executed, bold, and rewarding. And on top of that, this album works extremely well as a whole, as even the two interludes effectively build up tension. One of 2017’s best.