Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Abadon
Label: Self-released
Release: 2010
Rating: 3.5/5
Abadon are a rock band from Slovenj Gradec who have been on the scene for more than twenty years, believe it or not. The album »III« is, as the name itself says, their third studio album overall. Even though it came out all the way back in 2010, it’s only right to give it a little attention and introduce it in a few concise lines.
The album »III.« is an ambitious piece of work, which is no surprise. It was made over a span of nine years. On it, Abadon hold on to their stature (and voice) as lifelong, sworn rockers who won’t budge an inch in mindset or vision. »III.« is therefore the work of mature, seasoned tomcats who simply enjoy what they do, and what they (in all likelihood) do best in life.
»III.« is a colorful mix of 14 tracks in total (the last three are bonus tracks), on which the band shows it can play several genres and switch between them without a care. After the really beautiful instrumental opener Kolo sreče (intro), where the band also squeezes in a moment of mysticism as it builds up, the next track, Mrs. Brown, pours oil on the rock fire. The song Obrni stran develops in a similar sphere. Judging by the musicality and arranging style, Abadon remind us that they’re a distant relic of the eighties, when the lands of the former shared homeland had successful bands that skillfully crossed hard rock elements with pop, from Hazard, Spin and YUNK to Martin Krpan and Šank Rock and whoever else. In that arranging manner, the closing Kolo sreče II. takes the peak of the album. The band understands very well that catchy choruses are the high points of hard rock songs, and it isn’t shy about harmonizing vocal melodies either, which it pulls off especially nicely in the track just mentioned.
Otherwise, the band loves to blend hard rock elements with radio-friendly pop songwriting, as emphasized in the softer Je še čas. Klovn behaves in a similar manner later on, though there the hard rock premise firmly reasserts itself. Ona je… also fits into this category, with the band weaving in a touch of funk as it chases a sense of playfulness. The easygoing »swaying« of Čarobna ženska brings a veil of rascality with a blues sentiment, and here too the band keeps up a nice level of musical reconciliation throughout. A special departure from the album is the third track, Into the Black, which evokes the feel of classic U2 from the era of The Joshua Tree.
This album is top quality. There’s no doubt about that. It’s layered and detailed. If you haven’t noticed before, the middle instrumental sections will point it out, thanks to the high degree of listenability, where the band uses clever melody modulations to effectively shift the atmosphere, and the guitar steps into the spotlight, skillfully filling the space with heartfelt, tightly shaped solos. The guitar doesn’t shred notes headlessly, it carefully places them in just the right spot, keeping the arrangements compact. The band was actually so ambitious in its creativity that there’s a shade too much message on the album. Expressively, the album even feels too layered. To get more compactness and make the authorial vision easier to follow, meaning to define its recognizable musical profile more clearly, Abadon should focus more on a single genre in the future. Hard rock, that is. Hence the feeling that some tracks that stylistically stray, even though they’re perfectly credible achievements, don’t really belong on the album (Into the black, the instrumental Circus and later the funked-up jam Smoky). The band partly sensed this itself and labeled three tracks on the album as bonus tracks.
At moments a slightly grittier production would also hit the spot, with even rougher, sharper guitars combined with a chunky organ sound, but never mind. Abadon are guys from the old, classic Slovenian hard rock school and aren’t into the trendy principles of polishing the sound. What we hear on »III.« is a convincingly organic-sounding album with a lovely measure of felt, lived-in feeling from all four building blocks of the sonic picture, led by an exceptionally likable vocal performance from singer Iztok Hirtl.
Lineup
Iztok Hirtl – vocals, flute, guitar
Jani Legner – guitar, harmonica, vocals, backing vocals
Borut Šmon – bass
Krunoslav Likavec – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Dejan Dimec – backing vocals
Nina Miglič – backing vocals
Production
Dejan Dimec
Tracklist
1. Kolo sreče (Intro)
2. Mrs. Brown
3. Into the black
4. Je še čas
5. Obrni stran
6. Circus
7. Klovn
8. Ona je
9. Čarobna ženska
10. Smoky
11. Kolo sreče II.
bonus tracks:
12. Da jutro bo dišalo
13. Pozitivna energija
14. Stvari
