Abgott - Artefact of Madness
'Artefacts of Madness' is the third album from Italian black metal merchants Abgott. If you're unfamiliar with the band and are thinking: "wow, Italian black metal - I wonder if they add some uniquely Latin flourishes to this predominantly Scandinavian genre", prepare to be disappointed. Appropriately enough considering their homeland, Abgott indulge in some heavy-duty Emperor worship, with plenty of familiar sounding complicated and progressive guitar parts sweeping over off kilter rhythms. This is often tempered by a hefty measure of sharp blastbeat thrash in the style of later day Immortal.
So, two Norwegian black metal bands for the price of one Italian group; not a bad exchange rate, eh? Unfortunately, try as they might, Abgott just can't live up to the legends that inspired them. A case in point: although some of the guitar playing is mind scrambling, Abgott's progressive sections often inadvertently stray more towards Dimmu Borgir territory than Emperor's stamping grounds, and you don't need me to tell why that would be a bad thing. The Italians also struggle to conjure the cold, nihilistic atmosphere naturally inherent in the best black metal; 'Artefact of Madness' is about as chilling and unnerving as an episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The stream of consciousness lyrics are fairly cool but don't really mean anything and could have been scrawled on a notebook by a depressed A-level student, while any band who thinks that corpse paint and studded leather are at all frightening in the 21st century really needs to get out more often.
It's unfortunate for Abgott that both Emperor and Immortal are currently stirring in their self-imposed slumbers; if the black metal titans of old are stalking the earth once again, who is going to have the time or stomach for corpse-painted Italian wannabes, no matter how competent their mimicry?