Abbey ov Thelema – A Fragment ov the Great Work (2011)

Making its way from Slovakia, today we have a very interesting release in the realm of Avant-garde/experimental Black Metal. “A Fragment ov the Great Work” marks the debut of Abbey ov Thelema a two person project that leaves no stone unturned and delivers a very promising album. Taking from the greats Arcturus and Blut as Nord, the band pummels through eight tracks of pure madness and aural aggression.

Opening with organs on the intro “Left Hand Path”, the band quickly escalates things on “The One Who Walks the Left-Hand Path”. Mixing perfectly balanced atmospheric passages with aggressive Black Metal shrieks and commanding riffs, Abbey ov Thelema makes a strong impression immediately. The psychedelic synths are pretty deranged but great sounding and make the band’s songs be very appealing. There are plenty of melodic passages and crazy atmospheric interludes, like on “Unearthly Theophagia ov a Nonexistent Deity”, “Black Absinth Drunk While Analyzing the Writings ov Nietzsche” and “The Hidden Wisdom & Clandestine Legacy ov the Black Arts”, enough to satisfy the most demanding listeners.

With “Sanguis Vitam Est” nicely setting the mood for this release, “Stormwinds of Ages” quickly delivers powerful riffing, massive drums and hellish vocals. The combination of all elements is very typical of this band and with the atmospheric keyboards in the back, their signature sound is very evident. Never obscuring the music, the atmospheric elements are always very well balanced, something that Dimmu Borgir lost after “Enthroned Darkness Triumphant”.

Focusing more on the atmospheric side of things “8th April 1904 - The Day ov Nuit”, provides a more experimental sound to the band an nicely contrasts to the rest of the tracks. If you like Arcturus, “9th April 1904 - The Day ov Hadit” will immediately appeal to your senses due to its dark keyboards and clean vocals. Just before closing the album, the band delivers “10th April 1904 - The Day ov Ra-Hoor-Khuit”, a very Blus aus Nord-like track.

Overall, we have to say that “A Fragment ov the Great Work” is a pretty solid debut album that showcases the band’s talents for the bizarre. The lyrical concept is equally complex and esoteric and nicely accompanies this multi-layered release. Abbey ov Thelema have enough creativity to crate very exciting songs that will haunt your dreams for days, so be prepared to listen to this album in the dark.

Release: October 17th, 2011

Country: USA