DIRTY

This is the sixth album from Aborym, and has been released as a double CD. Formed in 1992 by frontman Fabban, Aborym started life as a covers band and went through several transformations, eventually pioneering what the band calls 'hard-industrial-electro extreme metal'. Today's line-up consists of Italians Fabban on vocals, bass and synths and Paolo Pieri (Hour Of Penance) on guitars, keyboards and programming, together with Norway's Bard 'Faust' Eithun (Blood Tsunami, Mongo Ninja, ex-Emperor) on drums. When I first put this album on the player the temperature dropped (I honestly felt physically colder as the music went on), and I was transported to the middle of a Norwegian wood in Winter, watching a pitched battle between Rammstein, Throbbing Gristle, Children of Bodom and Napalm Death with no clear idea of who was going to win.

Various words came to mind as I played this, including 'intense' and 'bleak'. Somehow these guys are expert at conjuring up a post apocalyptic vision in sound, and the result is an extreme version of black metal that has more than a nod to both industrial and grindcore. It is a very draining album to listen to due to the sheer intensity and power of what is taking place, yet the listener feels compelled to play it all the way through to the end without taking a break, although it is almost a relief when the music stops. I found some of the cover versions on the second CD really interesting, particularly Maiden's 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' and Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb'. The first has been deconstructed and has way more keyboards that one could imagine, while the second is virtually straight and is at total odds with the rest of the album.

This is not an easy album to listen to, and many will want to discard it out of hand completely, but if you want cutting edge extreme metal then this is one of the most incredible things I have ever come across. For more details visit www.agoniarecords.com