Völkischer Schwarzmetall

Here I find myself confronted with the third release by the German NSBM-band Nordglanz, “Völkischer Schwarzmetall”. It is the third release within two years, yet their speed at work has not contributed negatively to their skill at producing good songs.

This album is a difference to the first two releases by this band. Whilst the first album was properly NSBM with pagan metal and R.A.C. influences, and the second album was mainly pagan metal with little Black Metal influences and an increased hint of R.A.C. this album is almost entirely R.A.C. with some black metal notions.

R.A.C. and Black Metal being combined is not a new invention, Ulfhethnar had been the pioneers in this, but Nordglanz are those who are bringing this close to perfection. Now, unless you like both styles of music, this will not be an album for you, in fact most pure black metallers I have discussed this album with had negative sentiments about it, culminating in one friend referencing a song title of the band, saying “Wotan strafe Nordglanz” (Wotan, punish Nordglanz).

In a certain sense, this album is heavier, and more no-compromise than its precedessors. Whilst their first albums were heavily keyboard-influenced, this album is almost entirely driven by mid-tempo guitar riffing, and the keyboards are only sporadically used for emphasis. The drumming is somewhat faster than on the previous albums, but does not lose itself in blast-beating, and is probably the most black metal orientated instrument on the release. The voice is still rather weak, but is an improvement from the previous release, probably because it is most suited for a BM/R.A.C. cross-over – so it fits in somewhat better with the music than the previous releases.

As usual with Nordglanz, the greatest criticism are the lyrics. Besides the blatant combination between politics and religion, which is a characteristic of Nordglanz, the lyrics are reminiscent of unimaginative R.A.C. – however, for the most part they are a step up from their previous releases, whereas the improvement lies more with an increased use of good vocabulary rather than the content – their content is still highly unoriginal.

There are some good songs on here – “Stimme des Waldes” is the highlight of the album, where all elements of the album are combined to a great BM/RAC hymn; “Als die Alten noch jung waren” is a cover of Absurd, and despite not reaching the original in congeniality, it is still an amazing track; “In Freiheit geboren” is probably the most R.A.C. track on the entire album, but it still makes for a good sing-along; “Durch die Moore” has a catchy main riff; and, with reservations the title track, which has a great intro, again a catchy riff – but where the weakness in lyrical skill is most evident (“Einst kam von Thor der Knall, jetzt ist es unser Schall, völkischer Schwarzmetall”.

Overall, this is a potent album, however far from being their best release (which remains their debut “Heldenreich”), as there are too many weak points, as the remaining three track are rather unimaginative and dull, having only a few interesting moments at best. Nonetheless, Nordglanz once more show their immense potential on this release, and still know how to convince to 1488%. (:P) If you are only going to get one Nordglanz release, get “Heldenreich” instead, but if you are a long-standing fan of the band, and both like R.A.C. and BM, then this is definitely an album for you.

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