SPLIT REVIEW: Tchornobog / Abyssal

In an abyss where Black, Death and Doom Metal converge in dissonant, warped and terrifying territories a new split spawns. Out now via Lupus Lounge is this new offering from TCHORNOBOG and ABYSSAL.

Tchornobog‘s side opens with estranged sounds that certainly convey discomfort before a malicious array of off-kilter drums and twitching guitars erupt into a dissonant display of psychedelia. The vocals fit the chasmic production with a snarling groan to them while the utterly dense walls of explorative and ferocious instrumentation paint an anguishing canvas of oddities. It is worth noting that with some music of this ilk, the more “Metal” component of the sound can be left behind but there’s some really headbang-able grooves and bestial hooks to keep things appealing to the old school maniac while still doing more than enough to push boundaries into the cosmos. Especially considering the length of the song, the songwriting itself is very gripping and doesn’t tend to meander on one idea for so long that it becomes off-putting or loses intensity. In fact, some ideas appear only fleetingly before returning to a more primitive core. This method grounds the song while regularly kicking it out into the strangest of realms to taunt the mind. Thankfully the result ends as a coherent if totally inexplicable and eerie piece of music that does not just feel like dissonance for the sake of dissonance. Although played with an unmistakable aggression, plenty of dread seeps into the intense delivery of the song rendering it an uncomfortable experience of convulsive choral chaos. Tying the more vibrant flares down to the sepulchral filth resonating through every bar, there is a hopeless and yet radiant sound to “The Vomiting Choir” which is unlike anything you have ever heard, or likely will ever hear again.

Abyssal drone into life with a soul-cleaving heaviness. Their daunting vocals and percussive hits only broken by the dreary and otherworldly guitars they seem to effortlessly weave. There is a decidedly funereal beginning to this piece which suits the bands bellowing orchestrations gloriously, while leaving a fear that this intensity will crush the spirit. Indeed the building death march of discordance and despairing soundscapes grows into the malignant spirit we know Abyssal to be. Hammering out fiery drum passages to back up heaving guitars, the jarring yet inescapably claustrophobic sounds of their music is tied together with this rich production that feels organically crafted. The tarriness of the guitar and bass sticks to the formidable drumming which the vocals spew through them, rather than over the top, giving a weighted and punishing tonality to the song. Indeed the progression are as wild and untamed as ever from this serpentine creator who is always able to utilise music that infects the outer reaches of ones headspace with the most distorted of chaotic visions. The lead work dances in dissonance while the rhythmic battery never seems to allow us a moment to breathe, apparently offering one of the most oppressive and unsympathetic approaches to the bands output to date. The spasming riffs really do feel evil while not detracting from the rest of the piece, these to me give such a profound malice to the music yet in a way that although pugnacious can also feel quite beautiful, even tranquil for brief moments. The palpable anxiety of incoming doom is ever-present on this split and Abyssal perfectly convey this with a panicked frenzy that closes things in a cinematic and theatrical yet disturbed and unwelcoming manner so splendidly with ominous ritualistic tendencies naturally ensuing.

A split of two truly unique Extreme Metal artists that takes so many unfathomable twists and turns. Glowing in the cosmic rays before diving into the pits of sunken graves, there is a plethora of sounds to discover upon this recording that raise hairs, split skulls and expand the minds eye. It is often hard to put records like this into words that do it justice, but if you can withstand an ever-warping convulsion of Black/Death/Doom Metal that takes you into new psychic territories from the most terrifying angles, then this will definitely prove something worthwhile. Each band brings something superb to the split and neither outshines the other, working extremely cohesively to concoct something magnificent. This is one of those one of a kind collaboration (like the Wormlust and Skáphe one) that will likely never be imitated but will always hold a special place to those who hear it.