One Listen Review
1st Listen 26 Sept 25
Reviewed 28 Sept 25
Abraham – Idsungwüssä
Pelagic Records
Released 26 Sept 25
I am not a musician, I can’t really sing and so Abraham have achieved something that I have not, and will not ever do. Idsungwüssä is the 5th album by the Swiss post-metal outfit, and it is the ending of their trilogy of albums about the downfall of humanity. It is also an album that, quite literally, will not work on 1 listen alone. As this review is based on a solitary listen, below maybe unfair on the album, and the band in general.
Essentially, I don’t get it. It is an 8-track album that clocks in on the hour mark. This is important. The album must be listened to as a whole, but the fact is, it is a tough, lengthy listen. Idsungwüssä feels its length. I found most of the songs to be a chore to get through, from the 8 ½ minute album opener, ‘Fate of Man Lies in the Stars’, through to the 11 minute closer, ‘Home’. Truth be told, the album bored me.
However – it won’t bore everybody and I do suspect that if you deep-dive into the album, letting its strong points wash over you. Throughout the album, the vocals have a tortured feel
about them. Drummer/vocalist, Dave Schlagmeister, is perhaps the definitive sound of Idsungwüssä, as the rest of the band provide disconnected riffs and bombastic bass-runs. Yet, for every enjoyable track like, ‘I Am the Vessel and The Vessel Is Me’, we have an ‘En Tüüfus Tümpu’. This song is just over 3 minutes long, yet I wanted it finished about 10 minutes before it started.
Yet, the biggest problem with Idsungwüssä is me. Having listened to the album, I then read more about Abraham and, if I had done so previously, I would have known this wasn’t for me. Albums as complex, multi-layered and, on occasion, subtly weird must have multiple listens. There will be nuances that 1 listen will miss. Some tracks will have joyous moments that my developing sour mood will have glossed over.
So this review is flawed and unfair and yet, it is what the concept of 1 listen reviews are all about. How likely is the listener returning for subsequent listens on a streaming site?
The answer for myself is, not likely at all. But, other listeners with far greater tolerance than myself will check it out again and again and again.
This is why you should listen and make your own mind up, even if it is just once.
The DevilsHorns 
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