I guess it is all about the timing. Bands tend to rise and fall due to their members' egos, it happens in the major leaguers but also in the small timers, which some is what we often refer to as short-lived. The Norwegian Black Metal promise of the early 90s, LIMBONIC ART, returned yet again to haunt the minds of its listeners. This is the band's second resurface, after the last one back in 2006. Still on his own, as on the previous "Phantasmagoria" album, Vidar Jensen, aka Daemon, continues his status as the sole creator and composer of LIMBONIC ART. Hanging on to the British label Candlelight Records, "Spectre Abysm" was unveiled from the behind the curtain, far reaching into the dusky past.

Right before "Spectre Abysm" I took a short listen to what happened within "Phantasmagoria", just to check if what I read in the PR is actually a process that has been underway. It appears to be just that and it seems that the devolution process may have ended with "Spectre Abysm". In comparison to the band's previous incarnation, this album is the return of the old frosty Norwegian sound of the early 90s, yet with a much better production, the rebirth of the purified rawness of the beginning of the second wave of Black Metal, stepping away from the atmospheric beauty of the symphony, heralding a different kind of sensual orchestration. That same blizzard is rehashed with traditional Black Metal fast paced tremolo guitar play and blustery grinding blast beats, creating a kind of cosmic mist that is extremely haunting. With barely an ounce of melody, LIMBONIC ART shares its newly found witching hour in an obscure grace that could only be traced decades ago.

On the other hand, within all the wintery magic bestowed, at times the music can be exhausting, losing its grip and creativity, repetitive, sometimes static, riffs going on and on without anything to rock this ship into new shores. Since the symphonic elements are gone, there is nothing special really to hang on to. It is true that the raging storm beats and guitars, along with Daemon's cries ascertained a level of diabolical mysticism, nonetheless, that sensation couldn't be contained for the entire songs. Generally, I enjoyed "Demonic Resurrection" and especially sorrowful "Omega Doom" that made a difference, there are also the adequate "Through the Vast Profundity Obscure" and "Triumph of Sacrilege" that sounded convincing, a true return back to the roots of the wave.

Whether a return was bound or not bound to happen, LIMBONIC ART are back with their extreme Metal scene's earlier form. It has the influence to draw listeners closer, but yet again, with all the experience, there is a tendency to also draw back just a little.