“Time is the Sulphur in the Veins of the Saint (An excursion onto Satan's Fragmenting Principle)” is the kinda long title of this album. It has been conceived as a conceptual “joint venture” with the French Industrial Black Metal band, Blacklodge. Both album's concept deals with time and Abigor's is based on Einstein's quotation: “Time is Satan's way of keeping everything from happening at once.” Although this CD-Box features only Abigor, the “T/ME” album of Blacklodge is to be issued too, while there will be a special LP-BOX available with both records on EAL.

Let's also note that, as surprisingly stated in the booklet, the recording of parts for Abigor's “Time...” started in 2007! Of course, it does sound much like Abigor's last album, "Fractal Possession". But, we'll focus on the specific features distinguishing "Time..." from its predecessor. After "Fractal Possession", can the band really evolve on and perform iconoclasm again? Is it as dark and hermetic as its  mysterious green-black artwork suggests? Too intellectual, too experimental, too much?

Clock sample in the beginning of the album (part I) directly introduces the theme of time; gregorian singings and church organ suggest the theological thematic of this album but contrast with its modernity. Contrary to some expectations or fears (it depends), there are not many of electronic noises, just in intro and outro.

For the most, guitars consist in high-pitched tremolo-picked riffs, often used for the sake of creating a sparkling “texture” typically through fast tapping. We also note lone arpeggios and isolated echoed notes, as well as more melodic riffs, more rarely palm-muted riffs and a discrete well-distorted guitar sound.  Obviously, technical eclecticism has been perfectly conserved. But, contrary to "Fractal Possession", the main reproach of playing Death Metal instead of Black is brushed aside, for palm-mutes and rhythmical use of guitars remain rare.

The approach is rather focused on setting eerie atmospheres through guitar sounds than on creating elaborated melodies. The point on this album is not superimposing many guitar layers, but in combining appropriately several ones. But, clearly, guitar ensemble is more complicated than the first listening reveals... The point is that the hierarchy is rather well-done, although we could regret the fact that the middle frequencies and the aggressive saturated guitars are a bit too much in the background. Dissonance is subtle, but remains controlled. Various paradoxical atmospheres are mixed together. Epic feeling is not absent,but is countered by sinister guitars' howlings (f.i. last main riff in last movement of Part II).

What has to be noted is that, beside rare synthetic sounds, there seems to be no synth sound at all on this album. It follows the same principle as "Fractal Possession", contrary to all previous albums of the band. We must emphasize how careful and original is the use and treatment of guitars' sounds in order to create weird sounds. In a way, it is done as if these proto-melodic guitar patterns were made to replace synths and electronic ones. It looks like a witty compromise between the “trve”/orthodox renunciation of synths and the focus on setting atmospheres. Of course, this approach is bound to a studio approach, difficultly conceivable in any live performance.

Bass guitar is clearly put forward on this album. Apart from fineries (Part II, first movement), we notice a catchy and surprising melody in the beginning of Part I: wonderful! Dissonance with guitars' melody is present (Part I, second movement), supporting an uncanny atmosphere. Beside an usual smooth sound, bass guitar plays interesting sounds such as some echoed metallic slaps. On more rhythmical riffs, bass often merges with guitar's palm-muted riffs. Most of the time, bass lines feature riffs whose notes are oscillating, like a massive slow wave. Generally, bass is rarely linear and plays elaborated melodies.

Drums, as ever, are nervous, subtle but not over-present, often really fast, but also quite often mid-tempo. They are accompanying and are not put forward in a show off way, although some fineries within arrangements and rolls are impressive. Original cymbals details contrast with the typical Black Metal blast beats. The drums' sound is quite raw and natural, offering contrast with the weird elaborated guitar sounds.

Breaks are not developed the same way as on "Fractal Possession". Transitions between parts are less dramatic, more progressive. What is challenging and more difficult for listener is understanding and integrating the structure and evolution of melody, throughout different parts, included kind of ambient parts and changes between very different atmospheres. Moreover, tracks aren't very repetitive and are quite long (a bit less than 20 min each), which is unusual compared to the standards of Black Metal.

Vocals show some “improvement” compared to "Fractal Possession". Of course, it is a matter of taste and it's subjective. But, while vocals were very prominent and raw on the last album, here, they're less put forward, most of the time closer from Black Metal style. Plus, they're more distant and a little reverb is added, so that they tend to be far better integrated to the music. Also, there are some incantations, prayers, some distant voices, (semi-)clear vocals and choirs à la Emperor, some pseudo-whispers reminding Attila Csihar's on latest Mayhem's and Sunn O)))'s.

Lyrics are interesting and focus on time and on Satan as fragmenting principle. The idea to talk about time is original. Lyrics describe the various expression of Time as some archetype, linking figures of the ogre, Chronos, to Satan, as well as, on the other side of the cycle, the Phoenix or Icarus. While the divine answer to perishableness has always been “eternity” as some negation of time, it seems interesting and natural that the diabolical one lays in time's flowing, cyclical change, alteration of reality. Moreover, this approach doesn't simplistically oppose a “good” principle to another “bad” one, but unite both opposite principles. Conjunctio oppositorum?

Thus, a good point is that both lyrics and music illustrate and demonstrate the tragedy of perpetual rise and fall, life and death, creation and destruction, the necessity of accepting it, despite its absence of finality and meaninglessness. Indeed, although their duality, both poles are bound into one and all-encompassing cyclical movement, time. Satan represents the puppet-master producing change through this very temporal principle... Such concepts have no reason to envy usual Orthodox Black Metal bands' metaphysical perversions and iconoclastic symbolism. They even dig deeper...

This is not an easy task to review an album going so far. But, at the same time, it's really pleasant to face such degree of innovation shaking usual tastes and trends. Some sounds, such as guitar layers, may not be loud enough to get easily perceived. Sorry for those who like it dirty, with saturated sounds, important distorsions.

"Time..." is a bit like Mayhem's Grand Declaration of War or latest DeathSpell Omega in terms of structure and evolution, but far more successful. Yet, sometimes it however lacks continuity: we get lost in less interesting “ambient” parts, less catchy riffs and transitions are less obvious. This last point is the thorny one: the broken, wandering, disjointed side. The complex structure, far from standards, and the length of tracks don't help to get into it. The listener is just not able to predict the evolution of music, for it doesn't respect the prototypical “scripts” of the genre; and he has to make a listening effort to get into the music and to “accept” it, as well as the concepts it represents.
Some may say Abigor never actually created a new style, but each time in their career pushed further some ways others had started, such as, currently, DeathSpell Omega. Anyway: what Abigor touches, it turns it into gold.

Although we can find some common points with this band, we're in a very specific interpretation of such an approach. Abigor leads us towards a terra incognita and a “finis terra”, towards frontiers of known Black Metal continent... Thus, this band still deserves the term of avant-garde. But, I guess there will be no followers, given the extreme specificity and the demanding level of this album, from composition, through concepts, technical skills, till sound engineering.

“Time...” is globally difficultly accessible but less than some DeathSpell Omega. Here, Abigor is contrasted enough to allow more listeners to appreciate it, but it's also between total avantgarde abstractness and more usual “industrial” Black Metal developments. Fans of "Fractal Possession" will certainly like it, the curious ones, not afraid of innovation, too; but those unable to gather patience and to get out from traditional structures might not have the chance to appreciate it.

“Time...” is a great album, but few people will appreciate it, for the band managed again to break further the listeners' landmarks and expectations in a new slough, drastically selecting their audience as a result. It sounds hallucinogenic, as a permanent apocalypse; it's hermetic, elitist, iconoclastic, both musically- and conceptually-loaded, but successful and well-balanced. It hurls listeners off into a haunting and terror-filled abyss for a perpetual fall; it's strong, lively, aggressive and subtle: it's Black Metal living on, evolving, thus taking up itself the challenge of Time... Just take “Time...”