Abbath Dead Reaver Review

Released on March 25, 2002, Dead Reaver is Abbath's third outing since leaving Immortal. The Nordic black metal god is a full on sonic avalanche of frostbitten metal. 

The album starts off with the blizzardy "Acid Haze."The song is ominous and sounds like it is in an actual haze. Not sure if that was the intention and everything sounds muddied and hard to hear.  Overall, a decent opener. "Scarred Core" has crunching riffs and a speedy verse. Production sounds better than the first song. "Dream Cull" starts off with a chilly, creepy, tremolo style classical guitar. Then kicks in with a bone breaking, marrow picking riff. Great middle section with only drums and guitar solo. I can see why this was picked to be the single. 

"Myrmidon", the soldiers commanded by Achilles in the Iliad, is trippy with an excellent riff. ""The Deep Unbound" is a fast and spiraling tune that makes you feel like you are caught up in a whirlpool. "Septentrion", an archaic word for north, has an abrasive screaming riff and chugs the album along. "Trapped Under Ice" is a good cover of the Metallica song done as only Abbath can do. "The Book of Death" is an aural barrage of brutality with an eerie, spacy mid-section. "Dead Reaver", the best song on the album in my opinion, is most likely the next classic Abbath song. The riff is memorable and sounds as if it is coming off of "Sons of Northern Darkness."

Overall, "Dead Reaver", is a solid black 'n' roll album. 

Band

• Abbath - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Songwriting
• Ukri Suvilehto - Drums
• Mia Wallace - Bass (tracks 1, 2, 5, 9)
• Ole André Farstad - Guitars (lead, acoustic)

Endre Kirkesola plays Organ on Septentrion

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