Abyssic‘s parabola is one of the most anomalous in the doom sphere, and it is no coincidence that it emerges for its peculiarity; on the other hand, the Norwegian band firmly maintains the black metal matrix of the musicians and cloaks it with a symphonic aura that, combined with rhythmic slowdowns, becomes a perfect conjunction of the various components of the sound. Some might argue that Abyssic are nothing more than a version of Dimmu Borgir with doom traits, which would not be a bad thing either, drawing sap from the most creative phase of the Nordic pioneers of simphonic black (that of the albums of the last century, of which the band’s current drummer Tjodalv was an integral part) and layering it with a consistent patina of painful drama. In fact, after two magnificent full lengths such as A Winter’s Tale and High the Memory, Brought Forth in Iniquity provides continuity in a stylistic and qualitative sense by offering sound solutions, always characterised by André Aaslie’s impeccable orchestrations, that manage to be at the same time heavy, magniloquent and emotional. Abyssic‘s sound is not aimed at a specific band of listeners, so there is, paradoxically, the risk that the more fundamentalist fringes of black and doom fans will not grasp its spirit, considering it a sort of supergroup, being formed by musicians involved in various capacities with names such as Funeral, Old Mans Child, Susperia and Sirenia, in addition to the aforementioned Dimmu Borgir, but the truth is that the band founded by Memnoch with this new work definitively codifies a completely personal sound that borders on perfection in all its aspects and frankly, I find it difficult to think that anyone can hold a candle today in this specific stylistic segment.

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