The other ‘main’ band of Abruptum’s Tony ‘It’ Sarkka - Opthalamia may have adopted a more conventional metal approach than Abruptum’s demented noisescapes but ‘A Journey in Darkness’ is still by any measure an unorthodox, unusual take on the black metal template. This is not unexpected – Sarkka was never one to tread the conventional path, whether on the works of the aforementioned or with the utter lunacy of the short-lived ‘Vondur’ project – however, what does come as a surprise is that for all of its peculiarities, ‘A Journey in Darkness’ ends up as something of a heavy going and ultimately unrewarding listening experience.
The ingredients for something truly special are all in place – recorded in 1993 at the legendary Unisound Studios (where just about any Swedish release worth its salt in the early Nineties was tracked), the album fizzes with the cavernous-yet-clear, echo-heavy sound that typified the period. With the late Jon Nodtveidt of Dissection on vocals (here under the pseudonym of ‘Shadow’), ‘A Journey in Darkness’ could at first be mistaken for the twin of Dissection’s ‘The Somberlain’ debut such is the similarity in sound. However, such echoes are shortlived as Opthalamia swiftly head down obscure, meandering paths. The band’s sound is stripped bare with most tracks consisting of drums, bass, vocals and a single guitar – in today’s massively multi-tracked metal world, it sounds almost empty, adopting a sonic approach more in common with early Black Sabbath than more modern-day extreme metal.
Comparisons to the Sabbs don’t end there and many of the riffs on ‘A Journey into Darkness’ share a striking similarity with the growling, doomy blues of Iommi et al – most obviously on ‘Degradation of Holyness/Little Child of Light’ which really could have been lifted from one of the first four Sabbath LPs. Only Nodtveidt’s distinctive roar roots the track within anything approaching the black metal genre. The songs are long, sprawling and slow-paced – they simmer with a satisfyingly murky occult ambience but it has to be said, if does feel as if the album never really gets going. ‘The Eternal Walk Part II/Shores of Kaa-Ta-Nu’ contains an insistent refrain but is too stop-start, too restrained. At the end of the day ‘A Journey in Darkness’ is an interesting document of a genre at one of its most creative and fruitful phases but despite possessing an intriguing atmosphere, isn’t a record that holds much lasting appeal for this listener. There’s a hell of lot better out there created during this celebrated period.
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