DIRTY

Running parallel to an extent with Norway's Dodheimsgard, Italy's Aborym began as a fairly unassuming second-wave black metal band before taking on a more experimental and avant-garde approach. Although they might be best known for Mayhem and Tormentor vocalist Atila Csihar's tenure with the band, Aborym have adopted a pretty interesting and unique stance in the black metal realm at large. Industrial black metal has long been Aborym's calling, and unlike other bands who have dared to marry the two genres, Aborym have taken great care to blend the two with care and consideration. Aborym's sixth album, "Dirty", is appropriately named; it is decadent, hedonistic, and rotten to the core. The style has potential, and much of Aborym's material here is enjoyable on a surface level, but with the band's obsessive determination to forge a dense and distinctly industrial style, the songwriting and execution come up short. There is potential here, but it may have sounded better on paper.

If there's one thing Aborym has excelled in with "Dirty", it's the way they've seamlessly blended industrial and EDM music with black metal. As far as my own listening history and taste is concerned, this fusion of styles has assumed a form in bands like Blut Aus Nord and The Axis of Perdition, bands that, while making ample use of industrial music's timbre and cold aesthetic, scarcely translated into music that might appeal to industrial music fans. Instead, it was almost always black metal itself that was highlighted, and even then, the genre's elements would be often contorted with jarring experimentation and additional influence from other styles. By contrast, Aborym's style bridges the black metal and industrial styles with greater equality and due reverence paid to the latter. Although it's still right to file Aborym first under 'metal', "Dirty" integrates their industrial influences so deeply that the metal elements are forced to play a democratic role, often cautiously navigating around the electronic noise. The songwriting also presents a major departure from the black metal standard- many of the tracks here are driven by upbeat rhythms, some to the point of even being considered 'danceable'. Although Aborym recall plenty of black metal conventions in tandem with this industrial element, the style on "Dirty" reminds me a lot more of Marilyn Manson than Blut Aus Nord. It's admittedly not a style or sound I have found myself inclined towards before or after hearing this album, but it's at least refreshing to hear a fusion of genres unfold in a manner I'm not wholly familiar with.

Thankfully when it comes to their noise and electronic ingredients, Aborym are plenty inventive. In particular, "Across the Universe" makes excellent use of the style, cranking up a surprisingly catchy set of electronic ideas along with the expected assortment of riffs. "The Day the Sun Stopped Shining" is another highlight, giving listeners a taste of a slightly more reserved and melodic sound before the album closes. Aborym's industrial element enjoys a much-welcome presence in the mix, with the synthesizers packing just as much of a sonic punch as the guitars and drums. Unfortunately, as successful and refined as Aborym have made this stylistic fusion, they have failed to keep things interesting on the home front, that being the metal itself. It's as if Aborym got too caught up in perfecting their industrial craft that they forgot to pay attention to the other half. Although there are plenty of electronic sections that linger in the listener's mind after the album finishes, I don't think there's a single guitar riff on the album that dares to be unique or memorable. If the riffs aren't blandly recalling the done-to-death tremolo picking tricks and bland chord arrangements of black metal long-past, the riffs often default on uninventive chugging and rhythmic accompaniment. To compound the problem, the 'dirty' production pays no consideration to the guitars, which are left sounding sterile and samey. Add some lukewarm vocals to the melting pot, and "Dirty" is left an album that seems to have put all of its good eggs in one mechanical, synthesized basket.

Although Aborym have found an interesting style with potential aplenty to excite and disturb, "Dirty" ultimately comes off as a fairly mediocre collection of songs with far more flash than thunder."Across the Universe" stands out a head above for its dark atmosphere and superb electronics, but for the rest of the album, I'm typically left bored and underwhelmed.

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