Review by Felix on October 9, 2023.

First of all, a note on my own behalf. I have nothing to reproach myself for, because I gave this album many chances. Believe me, my original intention was to fall in love with “Totschläger (A Saintslayer’s Songbook)”. Why? Well, Abigor once belonged to the most promising black metal pioneers. Furthermore, they were part of the legendary Austrian Black Metal Syndicate and I love this kind of secret societies. “Verwüstung…” and “Orkblut…” appeared as the first steps into a golden (or black metallic) future. But things turned out differently and contrary to my hope, “Totschläger” is not a return to old strength.

Forget the overlong intro with piano tones, “Gomorrha Rising – Nightside Rebellion” has an accessible structure and a more or less conventional approach. After listening to it roughly 666 times, I more or less like the opener. But already the next, multi-layered number shows the inner conflict of the band. I do not know what this song wants to stand for. Dissonant tones and ill-defined, nasty guitar lines – every member seems to play its own song here. “Orkblut (Sieg oder Tod)” makes it easier for me, it wants to be a disgusting repulsive creature that scares the hell out of every mainstream music consumer. But the guitar lines are mediocre, the feeble blast beats drown in the nerve-shattering, noisy production and the shortly occurring triumphant atmosphere remains a quickly vanished highlight.

This is not to say that the entire work sucks. Some moments are exciting. My personal analysis is that Abigor want to be unique, that’s why they throw at least 667 ideas into each and every song, but ironically they have their best form whenever they deliver a more or less conservative approach. The riff of “The Saint of Murder” offers both depth and heaviness. The crooked, polyphonic and pseudo-melodic singing in the middle of the piece costs some sympathy. Anyway, under the bottom line, this track was the first one I began to like (already after 333 spins). The track is okay, no more, no less. But let me mention another positive detail. Abigor have courage and conviction. One cannot create this form of extravagant infernal sounds without having sold your soul to Satan. Abigor and, for example, Atrocity lie alphabetically in close proximity, but spiritually there are lightyears between the Austrian and the fickle formation from my homeland.

What I really miss is a coherent flow of the songs. Worse still, sometimes I do not have the feeling of listening to songs at all. Broad parts of the material seem to be a randomly occurring part of a monstrous cacophony. Then, out of the blue, comes a calm segment – but mostly it is not very well connected with the rest of the song. If I was forced to characterize the majority of the songs, I would do it this way: confusing metallic parts, calm intermezzos, confusing metallic parts again. By the way, the barbaric voice contributes to the confusion as well, because it adds a further element to the chaos. Maybe I am only an easy-listening black metal fan, or, in other words, no true supporter of the genre at all. But forgive me, I am not able to decode pieces like the very memorably titled “La plus longue nuit de diable – Guidng the Nameless”. Frankly, I doubt that a code for this song exists at all.

Our highly appreciated reviewer Michael quoted me in his review “Abigor makes music for schizophrenics“. This is still my opinion, although their music has a small dose of charm for non-schizophrenics as well. Nevertheless, I do not like this over-ambitious melange of noisy and / or sick elements. Abigor express agony and torture in a painfully consequent manner. This would be okay with an attractive musical environment, but exactly this is missing here. Anyway, if you want to take the challenge – Abigor’s “Totschläger” is awaiting you. I am curious if you will find your way out again of this jungle of explosive outbursts, blastbeats, odd and crooked guitar lines, strange intermezzos, solos that do whatever they want and a variable lead singer who knows how it feels to be possessed by Lucifer.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10

Review by Michael on December 14, 2020.

Abigor actually released a new album secretly, without me noticing anything about it. This year, Inquisition and Beherit have already managed to do that (although I would have been better off not knowing about "Boredom Lives" either). Very strange, I think I'm getting old.....

Well then, before I also forget to review the CD, I'd better get started. The cover is very nobly designed and shows the young Cain with a crown of thorns, who is in a flaming inferno. Fits quite well to the title Manslayer (A Saintslayer's Songbook), because that's what he was with his little brother. And according to the bible also the first murderer of mankind. I actually thought that the cover was designed by Eliran Kantor, but on inquiry the band informed me that it was "only" designed by an acquaintance of the band who paints and restores frescoes.

Musically it remains with the Abigor-typical elements in the first three songs. The first track ('Gomorrah Rising') starts after a short orchestral prelude with a hateful scream and raging guitars and drums. However, Abigor again ensure through many breaks and tempo changes that the song is very varied throughout and thus surprises again and again. In the further course of the disc I was reminded again and again of Deathspell Omega, because Abigor also sometimes uses these dissonant sounds (for example at the beginning of 'Silent Towers, Screaming Tombs'). What I had to smile about was the beginning of 'Orkblut (Sieg oder Tod)', which sounds like a boss battle melody from Final Fantasy, but then the song rises to a real inferno. Sometimes the characteristics of the old Abigor outputs (especially the first three albums) appear in the songs, be it the acoustic passages with flute or also from the guitar riffs and the drums. Also the slightly disturbing song structures they used on their newer albums are used again and again, which thus results in the album becoming their strongest so far in my opinion. Abigor creates a rather oppressive atmosphere that rarely gives you a sense of hope or warmth. Only 'La Plus Longue Nuit Du Diable - Guiding the Nameless' germinates a little hope at the beginning like a small ugly plant (most likely a cactus), which, however, by the vicious growling its leaves or needles directly loses again and at the latest when Silenius roars "Destruction...!" is torn from the ground. The beginning reminds me quite a bit of King Diamond, maybe it's because of the spinet or the somewhat macabre atmosphere it creates. The penultimate track 'Flood of Wrath' often brings back memories of old Emperor, on one hand by the use of keyboards and on the other hand by the vocals, which remind me a bit of Ihsahn.

In the further course Abigor still provides for two thick surprises. On one hand 'Tartaros Tides' sounds quite punky and I somehow have the feeling to have heard it somewhere before. Anyway, the song already sounds a bit like a party (sorry if that sounds inappropriate) but pretty cool in any case! Definitely the catchiest song on the album. 'Terrorkommando Eligos' clears pretty much everything and everyone out of the way and paves its way into the brain of the inclined listener as a crowning conclusion and without mercy. An absolute killer that crashes through a little more than 6 minutes.

My dear colleague Felix, who as you know also writes for MetalBite and Metal Archives, is of the opinion that Abigor makes music for schizophrenics. I definitely don't think so! And neither do I!!

So I have to state, after I already chose the new Sorcier des Glaces as the best black metal album of the year, that Abigor is at least on the same strong level. They have written an incredibly intense album that does not let go in the least and that will probably be heard by me many times in the coming weeks and months.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Faithless on December 13, 2020.

Morbid Saint was a band that came a little late to the great explosion of thrash metal in the United States and other parts of the world like Germany. Their debut album called Spectrum Of Death was released in 1990, when bands like Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Dark Angel, Kreator, and Destruction (among others) had already established a career with classic albums within the thrash metal scene. However, Spectrum Of Death has left a devastating crater within the collective memory of headbangers who go beyond the commercially successful bands and who dig deep into the underground to unearth gems like the one Morbid Saint crafted back in the days.

Only with a demo called Lock Up Your Children, which was the blueprint for the development of their opus Spectrum Of Death, the band came swinging the axe of brutality tight enough to leave a deep wound into the metal scene. Even though death metal was a THING back then and thrash metal was on their way to hibernation state. Spectrum of Death 7 relentless tracks and 1 instrumental in 32 minutes (nothing to envy "Reign in Blood" by Slayer). The record goes straight to business, no intros, no fillers; just killer songs and pure violence in the form of raw trash metal. I have to say that the band does not only stick to the classic thrash metal formula of tupa, tupa drums, not at all. These guys are so heavy, extreme, and aggressive that the line between death & thrash metal is very thin. The drums go double bass almost all the time, guitars feel like claws ripping flesh and the voice is raspy as fuck! I think Morbid Saint takes its time to polish their sound and make it way different from their peers, especially in the Bay Area scene. Brutality wise we can compare Morbid Saint with American bands like Possessed and Dark Angel; however, the band resembles more to Teutonic acts like Exhumer, Kreator, and Destruction. The sheer brutality and uncompromised attitude of their compositions are on the edge of death/thrash metal. Now that we have a general impression of the band's sound, I would like to dissect the tracks a bit more to give legit justice to this missing link into the foundations of extreme music called Spectrum of Death.

The album hits you in the face with 'Lock Up Your Children' and gives you no time to react! Just go with the flow and try not to perish while you try to recover from the knockout. Nonstop drums pounding your head at the speed of light and some memorable guitar hooks and shreds are the staples of this record. The songwriting and music approach is simple yet effective almost in a punk fashion, in your face. 'Burn At The Stake' has a more rhythmic approach and some gallops are also included to make the record more memorable and not just blasting from beginning to end (which is good but I think something positive about the album is that it breathes and does not suffocate the listener with a wall of noise). 'Assassin' is a longer tune and it builds into more elaborate structures and complete ideas in the song-writing department. The structure of the song makes more sense in the way the instruments tell a story. Pat Lind's vocals are violent and also have a demonic punk approach, spitting the lyrics like a snake spits venom. 'Damien' comes back to the shorter and more explosive songs from the record. Killer riffs and shreds compacted in a small track that resembles German bands like Kreator in cornerstone albums like "Pleasure to Kill" and "Endless Pain". The next track 'Crying For Death' is another banger of a song, it devastates and destroys everything in its path. Then, we have the self-titled track 'Spectrum of Death' which is an intro that connects for me, the best song in the whole album; 'Scars'. This song checks all the boxes previously mentioned as essential in the record, brutal assaults in the kit, memorable and killer riffs all around, and the infernal raspy voice spitting hate and venom. 'Scars' manages to keep your head banging for 7 plus minutes, it is the longest song and thus the most elaborated one in the whole record. This forgotten jewel closes with 'Beyond The Gates Of Hell'; and it kicks off with the most memorable and killer drum fill from the whole album. The song keeps the fast and violent pace that you have experienced along the way, there is not any filler in this record; all the songs are crafted to make you bang your head like there's no tomorrow. Indeed, I consider that some songs at the beginning of the album could have developed more to expand the devastating experience just a bit more.

Spectrum of Death is a classic, underrated, and forgotten piece of art in the thrash metal scene. There is no doubt that the band came late to the party and that's one of the reasons why their debut record was kind of buried by time and dust back in the day but now it is considered a banger of an album and a must-have for any metal collector. Unfortunately, the band entered a state of hiatus after the release of Spectrum of Death, until 2015 in which they released their follow-up called Destruction System. I recommend this band not only to the die-hard fans of thrash metal but also to any truly metal lover that wants to listen to a killer record. Essential, classic, underrated, and violently fast thrash metal, go and get it!

Rating: 10 out of 10