The cover of this album is enough to have me intrigued; a photograph of some woodland encased within a solid black border – simplistic yet inviting! I must say that this album didn’t instantly have me hooked, though it’s at the disadvantage of coming in during what’s possibly my busiest month all year at a time when a good 10 or so albums are fighting for stereo time, though after several spins it all of a sudden just seemed to click and after thinking I had this band all sussed out I practically flipped a 180!
There is much more to this album than meets the ear, that’s for sure, and Einsamkeit has a bit more to offer than your average black metal release. It’s not unrealistic to draw a comparison here to fellow Germans Secrets Of The Moon as they certainly have that progressive thing going on. ‘Unter Bleigrauen Wolkenlasten’ straight away shows how well they can plough through with truly necro ferocity and swiftly descend into an angular break which takes on a kind of jazzy warmth. There is a sludgy feel to ‘Mental Outlaw’ which really works well, and blends well with the wonderfully warm bass line and wild proggy flourishes. Drumming on this album is really good; Axt has a sophisticated jazz style that adds an air of erudition to the mix with those time signature changes that he manages to pull off without seeming awkward. Not to say that he can’t really let loose on the skins and ‘Marschbefehl’ comes back with a full-on battery on the drumkit, while that bass bumbles along nice and high in the mix allowing the guitars to settle into a steady flow.
Guitars are certainly worth mentioning here, as while there is all kinds of craziness going on these are the most consistent element and really top everything off with that fine layer of blackness that’s needed. On ‘Einsamkeit’ these certainly have a callousness about them and for the majority of which these come off as cold as a frosty winters’ day. Such passages are however balanced out with warmer respites which add extra colour to the palette and eventually things settle into a really rollicking yet spiky riff that totally involves the listener and there’s a trace of Satyricon to be found in some of these guitar repetitions.
‘Arkona’ is a great note upon which to end things. This one flares up with a wild and dangerous intro which is steeped high in atmosphere. Here there is a kind of Paganic ambience on display through the very faint sounds that flutter in the middle of the mix and also the wailing vocals that creep up from underneath. The vocals are most often delivered in a rather ravaging rasp that does suit the style very well, although more of the clean vocals would certainly improve things.
ATMF sure are delivering the goods, so to speak, and if Santa happens to deliver this down your chimney I don’t think you’ll be too disappointed.* Quality stuff!
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