Hoffnungstod

Wigrid is not a band that often comes up in conversation while discussing the more depressive side of black metal. Hailing from Germany with an entry year of 1998, Wigrid can definitely be described as a classic, essential artist within the DSBM scene. Like many, this is a one-man studio project, with Timmy "Ulfhednir" Kuntz handling all of the instruments. Like many bands that play this minimalist, atmospheric style of black metal, Wigrid is obviously influenced very much by the earlier works of Burzum, particularly "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss" and before. "Hoffnungstod" is Wigrid's first full-length album and, to me, is his finest of the two he's done thus far.

This album boasts extremely fuzzy and raw production, which is to be expected from an album of this style. The songs are all fairly long in length, with the shortest being the 3 minute introduction "Leere", and the remaining six range from 8 minutes and 15 seconds with "Schreie der Verzweiflung" to "Ort der Einsamkeit" clocking in at nearly 12 minutes in length, and personally, taking it's place as my favorite track on the album. Although really, that is a hard decision to make. These songs are all extremely captivating in emotion and melodic dreariness. The guitars have that standard fuzzy, distorted sound we have all come to expect. There is nothing technically sufficient going on anywhere. The riffs and dissonant chords are all played in a very simplistic manner. For me, this makes the music much more effective and thought provoking. Of course, this album does not sound completely original or innovative, and in a way, that is a blessing and a curse. We have the familiar atmospheric sound that is standard of the genre and remains absolutely effective, however, it sounds extremely familiar to other bands we have hard before Wigrid. I really can't fault the guy, though. This was his musical goal, and it works very well. Music like this is precisely why this atmospheric style of melancholic black metal remains my favorite style of music. Even with the songs being long and repetitive, I never get tired of this album. Just listen to the wonderfully melodic guitar work in "Die Entstehung". This song contains some of the best guitar work to be heard within the album's hour-long runtime.

As with many other one man atmospheric black metal bands, Wigrid makes use of a drum machine to provide the drumlines on this album. Because of this, the drums do sound somewhat inorganic and, well, programmed of course. There really is not much technicality in the drums, either. The patterns range anywhere from simplistic, crawling sections to simple, fair-paced blastbeats. You are not going to hear anything that particularly blows your mind in terms of drum work here, but really, that is not a big deal at all. This is not that type of album.

Another element Wigrid really seems to borrow from early Burzum would be his style of vocals. Instead of the raspy black metal style used by a lot of other bands, he opts for the high pitched, painful sounding wail that really evokes a sense of sadness and torment. A lot of other bands have done this, such as Sterbend or Nyktalgia, both of which are German bands as well, but Wigrid did it before those two, and Burzum did it before anyone else. This is a style that has been adopted by countless bands since the early 1990s, and when done right, really add to the overall atmosphere of the music. Some bands do it better than others, but Wigrid does it extremely well here.

Despite being a band often overlooked by many black metal fans, Wigrid is an extremely worthy listen for any fan of the more depressive stuff. Both the instrumental tracks on the album, as well as those containing vocals, are amazing and worth listening to. These songs may be long, but really move quickly, keeping the album interesting. Listen if you dare.

Wigrid creates minimalist atmospheric black metal through a simplistic function of rhythm and guitars drenched in thick, fuzzy distortion, expressing a dreary, bleak mood resembling the early works of Burzum. Hoffnungstod, Wigrid’s full-length debut, is a work of gloomy black metal expressed through a distant rawness of sound, exhibiting dark melody through delirious volition in austere guitar riffs emitting hypnotic states within the method of repetition.

Wigrid demonstrates the essential understanding of compositional structure towards inducing the listener into a trance-like state of dreamworld longing. Through fairly lengthy songs, guitars repeat mesmerizing melodic lines of desolate sound over simple programmed drumbeats blending into the mix in an effectiveness of emphasis on mood alteration and atmospheric manipulation. Cutting through the sound as spears through the heart are aching, mournful guitar melodies establishing a stunningly beautiful sound of yearning desperation in isolated fields of misty night. These melodies are most effective when the music flows in slowness of motion like ebon waves crashing onto shores of sorrow, such as in the spellbinding title track and "Ort der Einsamkeit". Chaotic speed functions more as feverish keeper of rhythmic dynamism to appropriately build anticipation for approaching moments of sweeping yet meditative melancholy, masterfully enhancing the emotional and atmospheric communication to awe-inspiring levels. Mention must be made of the instrumental "Das Sterben eines Traumes", which, through eight minutes of thickly layered distorted guitars repeating a single trance-like riff of hopeful sadness, builds an incredibly captivating and moving ambiance portraying a beauty of repetitious sound, a dedication to the will of the spirit heroically carrying wounds through a transcendent journey; a sublime presentation of hypnotic composition and mysterious reflection.

Howls of painful yearning voiced in primal despair portray the beast in man raging through emotional oppression in abraded wrath. Though only subtle variation of expression is delivered through these ghostly screams, the effect is profound in the communication of a languishing for a better world. Frustration with a vacancy of honest recognition of the reality of our world and condition pulses within barbaric speed, tempered by an inevitable yet imperative loneliness in slow-motion passages searching for a noble end to discover an essence of the origin. The concept acknowledges the suffering and perishing of life as a necessary element to complete the path of a deeper understanding and purpose in a forsaken world obliviously perishing in its self-constructed delusions.

Hoffnungstod is a rare work of post-1995 black metal that demonstrates conceptually-meaningful communication through flowing, harmoniously sophisticated, elegant composition that distinguished early masters such as Burzum and DarkThrone. The compositional depth reflects the experience of the journey of life, through an identifiable portrayal of sentiments and conditions essential to the adventure of existence, realized within the solitary profundities of deepest night.

Many years ago, Germany became the hot-spot for depressive black metal through the likes of Anti, Nyktalgia and Wigrid. To this day I still think that some of those earliest bands were the best at capturing the melancholy spirit of the sub-genre, including Wigrid’s full-length debut, ‘Hoffnungstod’. With the increased popularity of the sub-genre, Wigrid have been lost in the hustle somewhat, though they’re still admired by a fair few who have stood by them in the hope for a new release to confirm the bands spot as one of the very best, despite a few issues which could be seen as potential problems or setbacks. Wigrid, another one man project formed by Ulfhednir, have stood the test of time despite the potential problems I touched upon earlier. Obviously, as with bands like Australia’s Abyssic Hate, there will be those who don’t like the use of a drum machine, but Ulfhednir has done what he sees necessary to release this album, via No Colours no less, whilst keeping creative control over the band.

For me, the drum machine was never an issue, nor was it with Abyssic Hate. It does give a slightly more artificial and synthetic sound to the atmospherics, but there is still a lot of genuine emotion to be found in both the guitars and vocals, in particular. The vocals are especially heart-wrenching. As you can probably tell going by the other reviews and distinctly within the sound of ‘Hoffnungstod’, as well as the sophomore follow-up, there is a definitive touch of Burzum magic sprinkled over both releases. Everything from the vocals, to the atmospherics and even the way much of the music is displayed is in a similar vain to Burzum and Varg’s masterstroke of minimalistic black metal of the early to mid 1990’s. Not much here can be classed as innovative, or ground breaking. What we have here is simple worship of bands like Burzum and perhaps other notable acts of the time like Forgotten Woods and Strid, though to a much lesser extent. The vocal work, in particular, reminds me of the early days when Varg’s vocals were notably strong and full of despairing emotion. I do wonder, since Varg’s vocals have altered, will Ulfhednir be tempted to do the same? A new release will tell us all we need to know. According to No Colours, there is a release planned, but no dates have been given as to when it will see daylight, if it ever does.

Unlike Burzum however, Wigrid do not use keyboards on ‘Hoffnungstod’. I had initially expected them and was rather disappointed that Ulfhednir decided not to go with a subtle symphonic side but, in reflection, it was probably a wise move. The production isn’t very classy. The music feels very compacted, with dense atmospherics sprouting up along the way. The production is intense however and very dark, but exhibit’s a number of wonderfully juxtaposed warm melodies, as shown perfectly on songs like ‘Ort der Einsamkeit’. That is always something I’ve felt about Wigrid’s debut, like I did when I heard some of the very first Ulver albums, with ‘Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne til Ulven i Manden’ springing to mind specifically. Despite the raw sound of the production and the aggressive vocal style, there was warmth in some of the melodies on that particular Ulver album, as there is on certain songs on this album. These warm melodies are like the camp fires burning bright under the desolate night sky in the middle of dense forestry, as seen in the creepy and eerie artwork.

Everything from the themes, to the overall projection of the music is now known as rather typical of the sub-genre, but at that time I first heard it felt like nothing I’d heard before. At that point, I wasn’t heavily into Varg’s work, nor am I now really, so Wigrid felt almost completely new to me and very refreshing. Having examined the scene a lot more carefully since then, I do realise that this album is almost a carbon copy of some of the things being experimented on during the second wave, but I still respect the output Wigrid have laid on the listener here because it has such depth in emotion and the riffs, which are obviously central to the songs, are usually superb. Songs like the self-titled and ‘Der Weg in ein anderes Dasein’, both coming right at the end of the album, show a lot of neat riffs expressing various similar emotions such as depression, isolation and loneliness, something which is felt from the off through the intriguingly dark artwork. The guitars and the vocals are the main features of this album and since the bass is so buried, and the drums are obviously going to feel a little static at times due to their inability to show huge amounts of variation, these particular areas have to stay strong and they do. Still a classic.

Well, it's the debut album by the german one-man-band Wigrid.
It's depressive/misanthropic black metal, oftentimes in the same vein of Burzum (but still being really original in the compositions)
Listening to this album and reading its lyrics, you can drown yourself in Ulfhendnir's agnonies, lost hopes, deceptions and dead dreams. It's a powerful journey through of feelings and thoughts.

In the very first track, "Leere", you have a perfectly tuned intro, perhaps a bit repetitive (but not that much, considering the genre), reflecting the true voidfeeling.
Then, in "Ort der Einsamkeit" you have a insane man playing and screaming, and later, falling into the depressive tune again. (this track -construction remembers me a lot of "Key to the Gate" by Burzum) the vocals are really desperated, in the same way as Varg did in early Burzum.
The Album still in the same dark-atmosphere of agony, until the track "Das Sterben eines Traumes" which is a perfect instrumental track, I would call it as an "ode to dead dreams"--8 minutes of pure melancholy!
The title track "Hoffnungstod" is one of the saddest that I've listened to in my whole life, a perfect composition.
It ends with the track "Der Weg in ein anderes Dasein", which has the most "raw" parts of the album, and is just as strong as the others!

In conclusion, this album is a masterpiece, recommended for all Abyssic Hate/Burzum fans (and all that other misanthropic black metal stuff). It has a great production, perfect for this kind of black metal, where you can understand everything that you hear, but not clean-ish!
If you like the genre... OWN IT! RIGHT NOW! I'm sure that it will be one of your favourite albums if you listen to it in the right mood.

This is the debut full length of the German black metal band Wigrid.
This album is a very good definition of depressive/atmospheric black metal. It starts off with a guitar/keyboard intro which sets an obscure atmosphere from the beginning and which stays on throughout the songs.
Ulfhednir offers us some good quality riffs, sometimes raw and mostly demonstrating what depressive black metal is all about. The drums in the album vary from slow and simple drums beats to blast beats and constant double pedal drumming, a variety perfectly done in this album, the drums coordinates with the riffs produced. Ulfhednir's vocals are close to Varg's and fit the style very well. In some songs like “Ort der Einsamkeit” we pass from rough riffs and blast beats to a slow passage marked by quite decent riffing. The songs are mostly between 8 and 12 minutes, but the listener is far from boredom. “Das Sterben eines Traumes” is an instrumental that lasts 8 minutes; 8 minutes of total melancholy and dark atmosphere mixed with some ambient vibes ... The title track “Hoffnungstod” is also a great piece of work. Ambient and atmospheric touches are very present on this album.
For the production, the sound of the riffs and the drumming is not very clear, sometimes we can’t hear some snare hits or constant double pedal very well, but this sound suits the style played.

Finally, this album is a must for all depressive bm listeners, excellent work done by the mastermind of the band, a highly enjoyable album...