This is the second album from French black metallers Abduction.
I liked Une Ombre Régit les Ombres a lot, so now that the band have returned with album number two, it’s time to get reacquainted with their characterful brand of black metal.
The black metal you’ll find on A l’Heure du Crépuscule is expansive and emotive, largely taking a melodic and progressive delivery. This is firmly embedded in a scathing blackened aggression that even has some elements of death metal here and there, so that the end result is a rich and varied take on extremity.
Everything from furious blast beats to soft introspection is used at various points throughout this release. Dissonant riffs and avant-garde sounds make appearances, as do resplendent melodies and post-black metal lightness. A modern atmospheric approach can be heard in much of the material, and there’s a decidedly epic feel to some of the music too.
Light and shade is used well across the album, and the unconventional structuring of the songs, while surely putting some people off, gel together nicely the more you get to know the music. This is an album to sit with and learn, rather than to casually visit now and then.
Harsh screams are the main form of vocal employed, with clean singing making up the remainder. Both the vocals and the music are well-performed, and Abduction have a produced an album that has a lot to recommend itself.
Abduction have once more created an individualistic album of black metal, tailored to their own vision and delivered with both skill and talent. It’s the kind of album that might take a little work for some people to fully appreciate, but once you’re familiar with its charms, it reveals its rewards quickly.
A recommended listen.
Wonderbox Metal 