Congratulations to anyone correctly guessing this was German and I am indeed stating the bleeding obvious. A bit more background however determines that Fäulnis, which translates as putrefaction are from Hamburg so one could be very clever and make wisecracks about rotting hamburgers but that would be plain daft, especially considering that the music here strikes as very serious indeed. This is the group’s second full length album and follows on from a demo, couple of EP’s and a 20 minute video which looks very interesting. Throwing the album title through an online translator I get the result of “Between the brain and sense of delusion,” which makes a lot of sense considering the expansive universe of melancholic black metal that these 8 tracks transport me into for an hour of bleak yet enjoyable negativity.
‘MorgenGrauen’ opens up after a humungous scream and batters away with a thrusting melody which flails aggressively before spitting you out. It instantly hooks the listener and has a jubilant swagger about it reminiscent a bit of Kampfar if anything. Vocals are clean when they howl in, almost whipped off in the windy tumult of the music but strong and ultimately forceful, even if I do not know what they are singing about. For once I am not too perturbed by this is as the music behind them is so dynamic I have plenty to focus upon. The shortest track done, we slow down into ‘Angstzustand’ and the melancholy air now comes into play with sombre and funereal grief-stricken guitars and an almost suicidal grace about things. Again there are tortured cries in the vocal department but it is the atmosphere created by the instrumental sections that really pervade the essence of the song and indeed the whole album, really making its message heartfelt and plaintive.
Flying back into the battering pace provided by the first track ‘Weiße Wände’ again has a warrior smitten vibe about it and the vocals from Seuche and guest vocalist Phil (Ophis) are really thrust into the front of the mix. For every up there is a down and an interlude sounds like pills are being taken and someone is being sick, perhaps in a suicide attempt. As the track gallops for the finish line things again turn depressive with ‘Kopfkrieg’ installing a spacey doom laden atmosphere that gnaws away at you like rats through bones.
This is one of those albums where there is a lot going on but at the same time much of it is quite simple (if that makes any sense). It involves fully yet is very easy to get to grips with. Sparse ambient passages at times give you a breathing space from the more structured songs and work well as bridges to the music, the rumbling and sinister culmination of ‘Landgang’ being a case in point. When the band go for it, all guns blazing and at full throttle, they nail it with finesse.
I admit to being really damn picky when it comes to Germanic black metal but this is an album that tells me that perhaps I should not be quite so dismissive. It was one of five discs that turned up via Eisenwald Productions and I am really pleased that nobody else actually snapped it up as this is one that will be getting plenty more spins in the future.
http://www.sickblackart.de
http://www.myspace.com/sickblackart
http://www.karge-welten.de
