Asgardsrei

Absurd have always been a band that sticks out composition wise compared to other nsbm bands and especially black metal bands in general. In interviews, they cite a bunch of inspirations that sticks out compared to other black metal bands. You have the normal influences from bands such as Bathory, Mercyful fate and Celtic Frost. But Absurd also mentions bands such as Manowar, Der Fluch and Misfits, and it really shows through their early discography. The combination of the different influences really shows itself on this album.

The general tone of this album can be described as militaristic. When you're listening to songs like Crux Gammata, Als die Alten jung noch waren and the 10-minute epic Germanien Über Alles you really get the feeling of German tanks just rolling through cities and destroying everything in their path with soldiers marching behind them. The rest of the metal tracks on this album aren't as focused on the slow militaristic type of riffs, but the diversity of different types of riffs keep you engaged. The album is classified as a black metal/rac record, but the only song with a truly black metal type of riff is the title track. The truly unique thing with Absurds riffs on this album is actually the lack of technical ability and production quality. This results in not having 7 songs with dissonant tremolo picking switching between minor fives and minor sixths for 5 minutes, and instead lets more simple riffs shine.

Riffs aren't the only thing that Absurd (Schatten who writes ALL the music)provides on this album. There are some guitar leads covered in reverb that are placed in between verses to constantly keep you engaged through the album. Some people have mentioned that the melodies are from German folk songs, but I can't seem to find a source for that claim. The melodies however quite ''folky'' but still very epic.

The album, especially the remastered release is blessed by a guitar tone that can only be described as a chainsaw with fuzz pedals attached to it. The metallic feel of the guitar can't be understated, which also goes for the bass, which sounds like a thick iron pipe being slammed into another thicker pipe. The tone of the guitars are likely a result from them having cheap DDR gear. The drumming on this album is simple but Möbus knows how to make it tasteful and fitting to the track with his limited skill, and he really succeeds creating a hard hitting military beat to accompany Schattens riffs. The tone of the drums are very hard hitting, and the snare is tuned so low it almost sounds like a small bass drum.

Schattens vocals on Asgardsrei comes off as very natural. The growls on this album are all the false chord type, and it sounds like as the vocals on the individual tracks are in one take, which gives the vocals such a natural but aggressive sound. He doesn't just scream out as hard as he can. It's more of a powerful yell, like a drill-sergeant that scolds a private or a dictator that yells out his speech to motive his audience. There are only clean vocals on two tracks, and it's a real treat each time they appear. On the title track, Schattens clean vocals gives off the feeling that he's afraid. I don't know if this is intentional, but it almost sounds as if he is talking to a god or that the subject matter is so grand that he is singing so hard that his voice starts to shake. The clean vocals here could also be the effect from them taking inspiration from goth bands that also have vocals that sound like they are trembling in fear. The other track that features clean vocals is Germanien über alles and on this track the clean vocals are sung in a way a patriotic soldier would sing his national anthem. It's a mix of yelling and singing like the soldier really loves his country and that he is so proud over it, he starts ''yell singing'' a bit off-key.

I don't speak German, so I won't comment on the lyrics too much, but they seem to contain subjects such as World War 2, Paganism, the German people and Norse mythology.

The last thing I am gonna talk about is the Martial industrial tracks on this album. It features three songs which I would describe as martial industrial that are called Marsch zur neuen Kuns, Leben ist Krieg, Krieg ist Leben and Sonnenritter. They have the classic military drumming common in the genre and classical instruments (played on a synth). The songs are well-placed on the 2012 remastered version and spread out between the songs to give you a break from the ear-piercing chainsaw guitars. The opening track ''Marsch zur neuen Kuns''t is probably the worst one of the three in that it sounds like a movie trailer and all too well produced, luckily it only serves as the album's intro and is the shortest track. Leben ist Krieg, Krieg ist Leben is executed better in that it isn't too dragged out like sonnenritter is, and it isn't as cheesy as the opening track.

In conclusion, this album is as varied as their previous release Facta loqontuur but can still achieve to display overarching musical and compositional themes in a more aggressive, harsher, grander, and bigger way.

This album was released at 1999, vocals and guitars done by the original vocalist aka DMD and the drums by the legendary Hendrik Möbüs aka JFN. Absurd at it's prime in my opinion, this started the golden years of the band (from this to Totenlieder).

The production is way different from their previous material, this time the guitars sound really distorted and the drums have a special sound (especially the cymbals). The vocals sound a bit different compared to Facta Loquuntur, but in a positive way. They sound much more aggressive and it completely fits the style of the album. The drums have a crystal clear sound when you can hear it sadly it's a bit hidden under the guitar, but this shouldn't bother anyone.

Now let's talk about the songs. There are many different versions of this album including bonus songs, but I own the 2000 Wolf Tower Productions cassette release which has 2 more songs than the original version. The newest releases have even more. The first song is a simple intro, nothing special, but it's a great introduction to the album itself. The second song is Asgarsrei probably the most memorable song of the album, one of the most essential NSBM songs, this can be proven by the NSBM festival with the same name. it's raw it's simple, at the same time it's really good.

The third song is the most aggressive on the album in my opinion. It's not as simple as the self-titled song, this has more riffs and it's longer. One of the best moments in the album. The fourth song is an instrumental song called Crux Gammanta which is a song that has 2 riffs and if I heard it right at one part you can hear a Hitler speech too. A great introduction to the rest of the album. This song is nothing special like the intro, but it's really good. The fifth song is the first song on the album that has melodic riffs (like the songs on Werwolfthron and Totenlieder) great song one of my favorites on the album. The sixth song is Germanian Über Alles a 10-minute song that has clean vocals too (although the self-titled song has it too in this album you can hear much more) the song is a paradox that has a little drum introduction before every vocal part, this song is a bit long, but it's much more different than we heard in the rest of the album in a good way. The last song is a half instrumental and half vocal song. Great closing to the album it's nothing special, but it's repetitive after a few minutes. After the last song ends you can hear a part of the Nazi Anthem, at least in my cassette version.

My final words: This is a really good album with a lot of great moments. Essential release

For those who slogged through the tedious read that is ‘Lords of Chaos’, Germany’s Absurd need little introduction. Their bio reads like a Grange Hill story arc from the darkest of timelines. Love affairs with teachers, obsessive fans, mental illness, far right ideology, and murder in the most brutal fashion, it’s all there. Out of this chaos came music that is the very definition of surpassing one’s means. 1996’s ‘Facta Loquuntur’ is a rough and ready collection of recordings from different times and with shifting clientele. It exhibits the perfect marriage of punk, folk, and black metal. It makes for a uniquely charming yet compelling listen and defines this era of Absurd.

At the turn of the century a new line-up took Absurd in a different direction informed heavily by hardcore punk. But sandwiched just between these two eras, is ‘Asgardsrei’ (1999), an EP that closes the chapter on the most controversial and violent incarnation of the band. Many of the tracks here are available in one form or another tacked on various versions of ‘Facta Laquuntur’. However, it is worth tracking down the full release if you can. No easy task these days seeing as this and most of the early Absurd discography have been banned by the German authorities.

This is a foot stomping, militaristic half hours’ worth of raw and primitive black metal. It presents itself as punk music, but many of the riffs and guitar leads take their cues from simple folk refrains, often adapted into minor keys, which adds to the sheer sinister, warlike spirit of this music. On paper, it looks like pop; it’s simple but not simplistic, the melodies transmit easily; all this fits with the spirit of this EP as a call to arms, a rousing declaration of war.

Vocals follow similar patterns to the music, being part aggressive part melodic. But again, although the ideas may have been beyond the ability to execute them, this does not diminish the impact of the finished product. It lends it an intangible DIY charm, unfettered by any of the conventions demanded of more decorous modern output. This is underground metal of old, out in the wild, before the great taming of the web 2.0.

Although many may prefer the more varied and restrained ‘Facta Laqontor’, there is a chillingly primal heart to this release that is simply infectious. Add to this the ‘Conan the Barbarian’ inspired intro, which even Rob Darken would be proud of, and you have the makings of a gem of extreme metal at its most unacceptable to polite ears and minds.

Originally published at Hate Meditations