Vom Tempel zum Throne

This is the second release from Black Devastation Records, and considering they’ve done about twenty releases now I’m quite surprised to receive this, I wouldn’t imagine it to be included in their present promotional campaigns. But nonetheless I’m grateful for it. Erhabenheit is one of all the great bands Taaken is a member of, with Barastir, Wolfsschrei and Odal to be some of the rest. And it seems like everything this man lays a finger on turns golden, like he just can’t go wrong. And the same goes for Erhabenheit.

This is such a back to the basics-concept, and they seem to have found the perfect productions for it. The sound is extremely suppressed, yet you have no problem hearing what’s going on. It’s as if recorded way out in the woods, or maybe even in a cave somewhere, giving it a truly haunting sound. And it also has a few hiccups and crackling noise, which gives it a rough feel of the old tape-trading days. To call it primitive would be an insult, it’s just pure old school black metal without any fancy pansy modernization whatsoever.

While it might come off as nothing but bleak and minimalistic black metal, in the vein of so many other acts out there, it has a lot more to it. You’d be missing out on some of the great aspects of "Vom tempel zum throne" if you just brushed it off. The semi-melodic guitarlines are supreme, and while it’s chilling to the bone it still has warmth surrounding it (which might sound like a contradiction, but so what). It’s raw-as-hell and it takes on many different shapes; may it be stark, cold, saddened, haunting or just a searing stake up the pooper. The tempo is varying, but mainly it’s either rather slow or mid-tempo, with the drums lurking in the dark mists of the riffing. Vocally it’s harsh and desperate screams, sounding just as bleak and raw as the music.

If you want raw, bleak, minimalistic, primitive, old school (whatever) black metal that takes a piss of anything that’s modern, Erhabenheit is a sure bet.

Originally written for http://www.mylastchapter.net