Review by Elijah on March 19, 2021.

After binging all the Immortal albums in one day, I decided to end it off with Abbath, finally checking out his other band after he left Immortal. And boy, was that a good decision.

While sounding similar for sure, this self titled album takes modern Immortal and expands on it and makes it even better, in my opinion. Immortal definitely DOES NOT have any bad albums whatsoever, but I'd probably/maybe take this one over Immortal's last two records. They sound pretty similar, and while still being solid albums like any other Immortal albums, they aren't AS interesting as their other past ones in my eyes. But they're still great albums nonetheless, as every Immortal album is.

Anyways, as I said in the title - this album really is fucking fantastic. It has Immortal elements while also bringing something a little new to the table. Immortal with some decent twist. The songs are very well written and enjoyable from the get-go. Abbath has an overall very heavy and intimidating sound. Thanks to the drums for being the key factor in this album's heaviness. The drumming itself is very well done, perfect blast beats, rolls, everything is so on point and great. The drummer also doesn't fail to explore his playing a little, going from blast beats, simpler beats, pocket beats, and other beats over and over throughout the album's span. I appreciate a drummer that explores a bit, makes me appreciate the album more. And the sound of the drums are magnificent, really makes this album what it is. They have this thick, pummeling, raw, and brutal sound that kicks ass and dominates! The drums are an absolute rampage, full of energy and brutality; has a rough nature. We really need to hear drums like this more often in black metal. Maybe It's more often than I think and I'm just not checking out enough bands. These drums will forever be what makes Abbath, Abbath.

The vocals are your usual Immortal, absolutely nothing to complain about here, Abbath's vocals are awesome as always. And they sound great with the thick drums and vibe of the album. The guitars also have a heavy sound that contributes to the heaviness. The riffs are beautifully crafted and sound great! Awesome tone and sound too! While listening to this, you'll never fail to hear the perfect balance of brutality, and the expected scenic/emotional black metal sound. This is an Abbath side project, so of course it's gonna be solid and great like his previous works throughout all the years. I don't want to repeat myself, but this album is far too good, there's not really anything to complain about whatsoever. All the songs are enjoyable and differentiable; every track being it's own and fresh apiece. The music is well executed. The bonus tracks are a cool little treat too, especially the Immortal cover. As many other black metal albums are, including Immortal's, this self titled debut is a definite winter soundtrack.

So yeah, this album rules big time. Highly highly recommended for Immortal lovers or any black metal fans, or anyone too for that matter. Abbath is heavy, everything about it heavy, it has a naturally rough and brutal nature, while at the same time still having the key emotional/scenic/chill elements black metal should have.

Great debut for a new band at the time, Abbath rules! Don't sleep on them!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Review by Adam M on January 26, 2016.

Abbath is back with his solo material and it’s a welcome sight. This album is loaded with the huge, icy riffs that Immortal is known for. In fact, these sometimes surpass the epic hugeness that was displayed by the previous act. The fast tremolo picking that was a signature of Immortal returns with its almost thrash-like undertones.

The guitar work on this album is quite a spectacle to behold and holds this album together like glue. It is also very intense and adds a degree of passion to the music that is very appropriate. There are numerous examples of the crushing riffs on display. The opener To War itself brings some huge riffs, but there are other examples as well. This maintains a consistency for the guitar riffs that is very welcome. No matter the track, there is always a catchy lick to back it up in effective fashion. The gap has thus been filled for an Immortal style album. This album is great, but does lack in the originality department. The riffs sound much like the previous Immortal material despite being particularly well performed. Still, the layoff from having a similar album makes up for this small flaw in spades. It’s simply nice to have this frostbitten type of music again and it is done to near perfection.

There is so much power and drive in this music that it will appeal to practically any metal fan. The emotional intensity is important as well. The riffs drip with passion and this is key to establishing the backbone of the Abbath’s solo outfit. They are tight and precise and could only use more variation in the future. Still, the Abbath solo effort is a high quality attempt at black metal that has a very strong lineage in its rear view mirror.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Allan on November 4, 2002.

You’ve got to love it when you just stumble across a remarkable band when you weren’t even expecting it. It is even better when that band is still young, only then releasing their debut album. That’s what happened to me with Suicide Note, and their new debut album "You’re Not Looking So Good". Let me let you in on a little secret: metal-core rarely sounds this good.

Musically, one could classify Suicide Note as falling somewhere in between the sounds of the mighty Zao and some form of emo and punk. Suicide Note also show signs of being influenced by "Until Your Heart Stops"-era Cave In. However, around ninety percent of Suicide Note’s music is most closely related to the hardcore field.

When I went back to listen to "You’re Not Looking So Good" for a second time, the first thing that I noticed was that somehow the music seemed so familiar. I realized that it’s because Suicide Note have the ability to write some amazingly catchy riffs that don’t sacrifice even one shred of dignity. If you’re thinking it might be because the melodies on this album are basic and simple, I can assure they aren’t. Suicide Note just have that extra touch that pushes them a long way.

Suicide Note isn’t only bound to great melodies. They make an excellent connection with raw emotion in their songs. They somehow make something as primitive as anger seem deep, when most of the time it’s just caused by some act of barbarianism. Even the manic screams of Casey Donley fit the energy of the songs so well and seem to carry some form of semblance, not being there for the sake of being heavy. Listening to Suicide Note, you can somehow tell that when they play their music they put themselves into it one hundred percent.

Throughout the thirty minutes of "You’re Not Looking So Good", Suicide Note rips their way through so many different ideas. The composition abilities are good though, so you won’t be exposed to any cut and paste riffing. While the album follows the general theme of being intense and heavy, melody is abound everywhere on this album, from the extreme side of it to the times when Suicide Note splice in some clean vocals and clean guitars. The last thing to be aware of when it comes to Suicide Note is that you better be prepared for some whip lash, because there is no way that someone can avoid the grooves of songs like ‘Reno and Blood,’ ‘Amputee Supermodel,’ or ‘Come On Fuck Me’.

Bottom Line: The reason I can enjoy the over-saturated metal-core scene is because of bands like Suicide Note.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

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

Rating: 7.4 out of 10