Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc.

The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.
Band
Abruptum
Title
Evil Genius
Type
LP/EP
Company
Southern Lord
YOR
2007
Style
Heavy/Extreme
2/15/2008 - Review by: Al Kikuras
Terms that can be safely attached are dark, disgusting and disturbing
Abruptum. You either get it or you don't. Me, I get it. Abruptum is a band you very much have to be in the mood for and the kind of music that makes all those people who say, "That heavy metal crap is just noise" absolutely fucking right. Not that you can really classify Abruptum as heavy metal. Hell, you can't really classify them as much of anything when it comes to picking a genre, but terms that can be safely attached are dark, disgusting and disturbing. For the uninitiated, Abruptum are a cacophony of moaned and screamed vocals, sporadic percussion, droning guitars and various scary noises without much structure discernible to the human ear. Effective in setting a mood, great to crank out of the windows at Halloween to scare the hell out of the kids that come trick or treating. If you've heard the first two albums from Michael Ford's (of Black Funeral infamy) Darkness Enshroud, they are a pretty close point of reference, though it was Abruptum that really kicked this thing off.

Evil Genius is a collection of the Hexum Galaem Zelog and Satanist Tunes demos, as well as the Evil 7" EP. A promo copy of the Evil EP from my print 'zine days back in 1991 was my first introduction to Abruptum, a few years before some church burnings and a murder turned the underground (and world's) attention to to Norway, Sweden and all things black metal. I will never forget putting it on the first time, hearing the crack of the vinyl, then this abomination pouring forth from the speakers. First thing I did was check the RPMs to see if it was on 33 or 45. I realized since it was a 7" it probably should be on 45, but it really didn't seem to make much difference either way. But, hey, that's Abruptum. It's about mood. It is about upsetting people. It is about, as Euronymous said, "the essence of pure black evil." Whether you want to write Abruptum off as nothing but noise, or a gimmick band, the truth is there was nothing quite like this done before and nothing done quite this well since. If you are new to the project, I suggest starting with the albums Umbra Malitae Ambulabo, In Aeternum In Triumpho Tenebrarum or Vi Sonus Veris Nigrae. If they don't do it for you, steer clear of Evil Genius, but if you already appreciate Abruptum, the origins of this monster are good to hear (and I am happy to have Evil in a digital format).
  • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
    3.5 :AVE RATING

ALL REVIEWS FOR: ABRUPTUM
TITLE
DOR
COMPANY
REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
Evil Genius
2007
Southern Lord
Al Kikuras2/15/2008
3.5

ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: ABRUPTUM
INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


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