Rattenkönig

Mütiilation's latest album "Rattenkonig" is one of the better releases by Meyhna'ch in some time. While not comparing with the brilliance of Vampires of Black Imperial Blood or Remains of a Ruined, Dead, Cursed Soul this album is a very dark collection of compositions that will amaze you.

Rattenkonig continues with Meyhna'ch's use of the drum machine but this time the drum programming works well enough for the release. It can get annoying at times but it's done much better on this release than some of the other Mutiilation releases in recent years with the use of the drum machine. The guitars are purely dark and melancholic, a return to the older releases, but with a much deeper atmosphere and production to them (Since remains and vampires seem either to be mixed with very little bass or very distant sounding). This is truely one of the better releases coming from Meyhna'ch in a long time.

If you can find this release be sure to get hold of it right away. It's much better than majestas leprosus and possibly you could say even better than Black Millenium (Grimly Reborn). You won't find disappointment with this new blasphemy from the depths of this sombre soul.

The lone surviving band and the most known (alongside Vlad Tepes, Belketre) of the much underrated Les Legions Noires and in my opinion the best and "truest" black metal scene in the world has put out another album in this millenium. I'm a big Mutiilation fan so it's going to be tough to be objective but I didn't like everything this band has put out. This one is different for me. I put this in my list of Mutiilation releases that has pleased me. First off, the guitars are not loud in the mix like the previous album 'Majestas Leprosus' and the riffs are good. Production-wise its clean (at least by LLN standards) but not polished. Meyhna'ch's voice is a low growl which fits the music on this album well as opposed to his majestic screaming on 'Remains Of A Ruined, Dead, Cursed Soul' which I wish he could bring back again, perhaps on the next album.

I suppose the best way to describe Rattenkonig is that the songs all seems to blend together well, nothing sounds terribly different. But don't take this the wrong way, the songs are good and will warrant repeated listens. My standout tracks would be 'That Night When I Died', 'The Ecstatic Spiral To Hell' and 'I, Satan's Carrion'. The electronic "sounds" put in the beginning of certain songs does put an eerie atmosphere to it and adds to the overall quality of the album. I suppose my one complaint would be that the drums don't stand out and it would've helped having a real drummer do the duties here. Otherwise the production is no problem for me even though its not like other LLN bands or early Mutiilation albums which seemed to use sewers for a recording studio, not that it was a bad thing =).

I can't describe how I felt when I heard this album. I believe I was overwhelmed by it in a sense. Musically, it is far more superior than the two previous full lengths, but the vocals are HORRENDOUS.

In particular, track five, "The Pact (The Eye of the Jackal)" has this interesting electronic vocal effect. It sounds nothing like the effect used on such songs as "New False Prophet" or the remake of "Destroy Your Life For Satan." This one is far worse and is carried on for most of the song. Overall, the vocal quality is weak. It almost feels so completely emotionless.

Musically, the album holds over quite well. The riffs are just as simplistic as all of the other releases, but they develop the mood of the album. The drum machine that we have all grown to love and/or hate is ever-present on this release as well. It sounds like it needed to be pushed back into the mix further. Other than that, it's pretty good.

Ultimately, this IS a good release, but the vocals and drum machine hold it back. I recommend old and new fans alike to pick this release up. Old fans will get something out of it that "Black Millenium" and "Majestas Leprosus" couldn't give them, and new fans can get off to a better introduction than the past two releases.