Abigor is one of those bands who are referred as the godfathers of black metal. An underground band for the most people, managed to create some of the most influential records for black metal during the nineties. ‘Nachthymnen’ is in my opinion one of the greatest black metal records ever created, definitely in the first five titles. The band returns two years after ‘Quintessence’ with ‘Leytmotif Lucifer’ or ‘The 7 Temptations of Man’. The record is as described a concept one, based on the seven temptations which plaque the modern world today.

As a result, the record contains seven songs, one for each temptation. Abigor’s vision is promising and made everyone seeking out for the record and what the band will teach us throughout their music this time. However, the outcome was not the one I was expecting to be. The record could be a great one, but the songs Abigor offers us are lost into the anarchy of their own creativity.

In details, the songs are just overwhelming (in a negative way); a numerous of riffs and melodies are used to create a record influenced by Mayhem’s unstoppable and anarchistic structure of music. Sounds, melodies, riffs are all over the place. From ‘Akrasia’ to ‘Indulgence’ and ‘Excessus’, Abigor create hellish music but the band lacks of creative intelligence and notable moments. The record is maybe too chaotic for my personal taste, but I tend to believe it may be too chaotic for everyone (as a few black- metal fans informed me). ‘Indulgence’ for example, is a song which will possible be skipped. Its structure is chaotic and the ghoulish vocals do not help when the music background lacks of sufficient beauty.

As the record progresses, the listener with get flashbacks of the band’s past releases. There’s plenty of beauty and fifth in Abigor’s first full-length records, something which I constantly search into their latest two releases. Unfortunately, no ‘Scars in the Landscape of God’ bedeck their records anymore, no ‘Demon’s Vortex’ in their skies.

‘Leytmotif Lucifer’ can be enjoyed by the black metal fans, because Abigor created it and the band can’t create a really bad record (just like Mayhem did). I would recommend this one for everyone who fancies extreme black metal, especially those who reminisce of the old-school European releases.