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Track Listing: Xibir Born Treacherous Gateways Chess With The Abyss Dimmu Borgir Ritualist The Demiurge Molecule A Jewel Traced Through Coal Renewal Endings And Continuations

It has been 3 years since we've had a release from the Norwegian symphonic black metallers. This is also the first album since the departure of ICS Vortex (bass and clean vocals), Musits (keyboard), and Hellhammer (drums). There is a lot going on with this album. It has been in production for about eleven months and features an ensemble orchestra as well as a choir. Shagrath has returned to his keyboard playing in the band. "Abrahadabra" can be loosely translated as "I will create as I speak" and was created by Aleister Crowley in his work, "Liber AL vel Legis" or The Book of Law. Another thing to note is the band has gone back to its one word album titles instead of their quintessential three word album titles. This album is epic on many levels besides the songs.

The cover art has been done by Joachim Luetke. The artist has revealed that the main mask on the album cover is a representation of H.P. Lovecraft's, "Elder Gods". I quote, "The mask/face personifies dominion of powers far beyond mankind. The nameless gods witnessed the birth of our universe and they'll watch it implode. To them, the age of mankind is but a blink of an eye."

The first thing to note with this album is the production and the mix. It is one of the best sounding metal albums in a long time. Right from the starting bass on Xibir to the spoken finale on the song Endings and Continuations, this album and the band prove that they still have it and can kick your ass. Another thing to note with the general sound on the album is that there is a definite haunting and eerie feeling throughout the album. The album has a definite orchestral inclination on the composition side. Kringkastingsorkestret (the Norwegian radio orchestra) and the Schola Cantorum Choir can have a very noticeable presence on the general sound on Abrahadabra. With the two aforementioned entities the total number of musicians at work on this to be classic crosses a hundred!

Here is a song by song review of the album:
1. Xibir : I have always thought the idea of having an instrumental and symphonic short song for the opening track is a good idea since it makes for a nice concert opener while the band is backstage. These tracks usually generate a huge sense of enthusiasm among the audience members. This song surpasses everything it aims to do. It is not the typical 1 minute intro thrown in for the heck of it. It has a haunting a huge feeling about it. It continues to build up to the next song. The keyboard and choir go hand in hand here. Seeing this performed by a live choir and Shagrath will be epic.
2. Born Treacherous : Usually after an instrumental and slow intro you expect pounding blast beats or some double bass madness. The song starts off with a distorted guitar riff that plays from left to right before the thundering bass comes in with Shagrath's trademark vocals. The orchestra comes in along with the drums and they keep the tempo going. This will definitely be a staple in the bands live set. It has classic Dimmu Borgir written all over it. The keyboard melodies are excellent and are woven perfectly with the guitar and drums. The song also features a few clean vocals. The song has a break almost halfway through it that has a clean spoken part along with a drum and guitar riff. This doesn't seem to fit well in the middle of the song. The song ends with the intro riff.
3. Gateways : This song starts off with an eerie choir vocal pattern that leads into the keyboard melodies that makes Dimmu Borgir what they are. The drums really shine on this track. The song has a very progressive feel to it and is one of the longer songs on the album. There is a call and answer vocal section which features almost female witchlike vocals. The guitar section in the middle should have continued for a little longer. The song ends with the different vocalists singing in the same call and answer fashion. This song also seems to feature another clean male vocalist.
4. Chess with the abyss : The shortest song on the album features the best guitar work on the album. The double bass here seems effortless. The middle break section is what makes this song really shine. I don't like the clean vocals in this song but the guitar riffs save it.
5. Dimmu Borgir : A self titled song? With a song called Dimmu Borgir everyone obviously has high expectations from it. It delivers in every aspect. This is the high point on the album. It encompasses everything that the band is known for. This is the second song on the album that features the clean vocals and choir sections. The keyboard shines here for its melody drives the entire song. This is the second longest song on the album. Gaute Storaas composed the orchestral arrangements on this album and works very well with Shagrath on harmonizing the keyboard and orchestral arrangements. This song took me back to in death's embrace and mourning palace from the bands past effort, Enthrone darkness triumphant. There are a lot of spoken sections in this song. The song ends with the instruments fading out and an evil laugh.
6. The Ritualist : The song starts with a backward vocal track that sounds like a spell being cast on someone. That leads into an acoustic guitar riff that is reminiscent of early Opeth. The main vocals of the song feature Shagrath growling "RITUALIST!". The clean vocals don't fit too well here. The vocals are very good on their own but they don't fit this song in my opinion. I really want to see how the band does this song live. It is one of the weaker songs on the album.
7. The Demiurge Molecule : This is another one of the more progressive songs on this album. The main melody continues throughout the song with slight modifications barring the time changes. There are tons of things going on here and you cannot predict what's coming next. This will be another song that I would love to see live. There are too many songs on this album that end with a fade out. This song is no exception to that statement.
8. A Jewel Traced through Coal : The vocals on this song make you feel like grinning from ear to ear. The double bass is engraved into the orchestral sections here. This song also features a mind-blowing Drum and bass rhythm arrangement. You also realize the importance of listening to music with headphones here. There are too many small things to notice here. They have outdone themselves on this track.
9. Renewal : The intro is nothing special here. As with an earlier track the guitar melodies save the track. There is something else that sets this track apart. There is a guitar solo on it. This makes me wonder why they did not bother writing solos for the rest of the songs. The middle bass and guitar section is amazing. The bass playing is top notch here. The clean vocals that follow are apt and do not draw away from the song.
10. Endings and Continuations : Starting off with some storm sound effects, the album closer is one of the best songs on the album. Clocking in at nearly 6 minutes, the spoken vocals start building the song temp before the drums take over. This song has its death metal sections and its symphonic sections. Clean vocals have a major part on this song. It almost seems like Shagrath has taken a backseat on this song. The one thing this song really lacks is a nice long guitar solo. The album concludes with the instruments fading out and the word "Abrahadabra" being whispered over an acoustic riff. That is a perfect conclusion to the album.

I won't say this album has filler songs because it doesn't. It just feels like a few sections in songs were dragged on for longer than they should have. Overall this album will be a big hit with the bands fans as well as with Symphonic and dark metal enthusiasts alike. Even though more than half of the album was written by Shagrath, Silenoz, and Galder, it has everything that people expect in a Dimmu Borgir album. The new bassist and drummer seem to fit perfectly with the band. Their identities are yet to be revealed. Overall I give this album 8/10.