Abysmal, this one from Italy, is a one-man Black Metal outfit very much influenced by early Burzum and other such "minimalistic" BM bands. Short and to the point "333" contains only three untitled songs of atmospheric raw Black Metal with a certain monotonous feel. One can get through the entire EP without really noticing the songs changing - although the second song kicks off on a more brutal path than the first one. Keyboards are used sparingly and just in the right places to give a discreet melodic touch, and the guitars are omnipresent with a "screechy", raw ear-piercing style, very much reminiscent of some of Burzum's (and the many worshipers) work. The vocals aren't as demented as Varg's (the only time I heard vocals that came close were on Diaboli's "Anthems of Sorrow"), but they are definitely a good fit for this - chilling, agonizing, completely undecipherable and sounding like they're reaching from beyond the grave - the kind of stuff to scare the uninitiated away. It's been done before, of course, but Abysmal does a good job executing this minimalistic style, the major obstacle being that it may be a little too monotonous for its own good.
