It was but a year ago when EISENKULT made their bolt-from-the-blue debut statement with ...gedenken wir der Finsternis. A blood pact shared among members of MAVORIM, TOTENWACHE, and MUECHELMORD, it was only logical for PURITY THROUGH FIRE to further the propaganda with the release of EISENKULT's debut album. Perhaps not surprisingly, ...gedenken wir der Finsternis gleamed with the righteous steel of Teutonic black metal: pure, proud, and traditional!
Wasting no time keeping that enviable momentum going, EISENKULT's second full-length strike arrives 11 months later bearing the title ...vom Himmel, hoch herab. Once again boasting an evocative 8-bit-style intro, the listener is immediately whisked away to forgotten realms as the power-trio plunge into stoutly second-wave classicism, here even more folkloric and fantastical than their not-inconsiderable debut album. And whereas that debut LP shocked & awed with its succinct 28-minute runtime, here with the 42-minute ...vom Himmel, hoch herab do EISENKULT reveal the full splendor of their powers, deftly moving from anthemic mid-tempos to mystical swooshes of speed, the atmosphere most medieval and the songwriting simply stunning. Likewise, the production across this album is gritty-yet-clear, convincingly mid-to-late '90s as its content.
Dark melodrama for dreamers, journeyers, and all others against the modern world, EISENKULT come bearing better chainmail and sharper swords with ...vom Himmel, hoch herab. The past is more alive than ever!
Following last year's masterful debut album, Der Wald zwischen den Welten, GRANITADER continue to storm the ramparts with the three-song / 16-minute Schlachtenklang
Wendul (Wolfsblut & Burkhartsvinter) zeigt hierbei eindrucksvoll das er nicht nur die schnellen Black Metal Klänge spielerisch perfekt in Szene setzt, sondern auch dem Doom-Metal eine majestätische Atmosphäre verleiht.
Completed by a plausibly professional production that doesn't negate the raw grit of emotion, NACHTIG's Eisig' Romantik is bound to be the year's saddest black metal record - and one of the most engrossing.
Officially licensed release on Icarus Music. Includes the demo and 1st EP as well as a multimedia part with rare, exclusive footage of pre-Nightside rehearsals and live footage from Emperor's first tour 1993! Must have!!