Review by Adam M on January 25, 2012.

This is a wired album that is full of jagged riffs and slanted song structures. It contains a slight sense of melody, but there isn’t a lot of distinction to the manners in which the songs are formed because they are constantly changing. A solid production job helps the songs jump out at you and there is an evil vibe similar to Deathspell Omega as well.

Thus a somewhat intense atmosphere is created that draws you into the music. However, there is also a slight problem that the music is too weird and unstructured at times as well. There are times when I was enraptured by the rhythms on this disc, but admittedly there are times when it goes into directions that are too odd and loses your interest.

This is the nature of avant-Garde music, however and the material is sometimes hit or miss, but the moments that are really great do stand out. People that enjoy this style of music will probably appreciate the album more because they will find more pleasure in the obscurity of the rhythms. It’s definitely the type of material that will take multiple listens to appreciate at a higher level. The beginning and ending portions of this album are the strongest, with the three parts of 'View From Hverfell' being the most interesting parts of the material.

Dodecahedron has put out an intriguing piece of material with this self-titled release that has enough compelling moments to overlook a few strange musical choices here and there. This is an album for Avant-Garde fans first and foremost.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 7.5
Production: 9
Originality: 8
Overall: 8

rating:7.9 out of 10

Review by Luka on August 4, 2001.

Abigor’s style is indeed one that takes getting used to. The multiple layers of tinny guitars over weak bass and just about the most complex drumming I’ve ever heard in my life got mixed reactions from me at first listen. At first impression, this was total chaos, sure a heavy, chugging riff or two could get distinguished but majority of it was complex, trilled guitarwork that doesn’t qualify as either lead or riff.

The drummer knows what he’s doing, for sure. The drums are so complex it’s unbelievable, I can’t help but think that he does all the tracks right in the studio as improvisation, and then they just record his best try. Abigor don’t play live so they can pretty much make their music as complex and difficult as they want. Record it once in the studio and you don’t have to worry about it anymore. Even for improv., the drummer shows immense talent, and he knows how to get your head bobbing. After a minute of hyper speed blast-beats you kind of get lost in the confusion, and only then does he slow down and deliver a nice, pounding beat under heavy, crunchy guitars.

Abigor’s studio and production has definitely improved this time. They seemed to have had enough time to get everything done right. Three guitar layers don’t leave any holes in the music and actually create a natural wall of sound, which means that ear damage -will- result if played too loud on earphones. There’s plenty of sound effects and synths here, but only on the intro’s or outro’s, since they don’t want to start getting blamed for using sound effects to create feeling in their songs.

This is my prime example of extreme music. It’s black metal pushed to it’s absolute peak of complexity. The last song, 'Pandora’s Miasmic Breath' is definitely the best. Catchiest drumwork (especially in the outro!), heaviest guitars. Just awesome, but the songs in the middle get a little boring to sit through and don’t offer much innovation, just the absolute complexity and inaccessibility that may one day be fully explored and understood by someone.

Bottom Line: Dark, obscure, cryptic, complex music that will be understood and appreciated by only a few.

Ratting: 7 out of 10