I always give credit where it is due and a big shout out to Spear over at Toilet Ov Hell for featuring this one in his This Toilet Tuesday write up. He wrote a nice little blurb about this absolutely stellar release by Germany’s Entgeist that piqued my interest. Immediately from listening to the track he linked for it, I was hooked. Entgeist are a five-piece post black metal band from Heilbronn, Germany that formed in 2013 and have one prior release to this debut full-length, an EP by the name of Monochrom that was released in 2017. Opening this album is the instrumental “Invocatio” that slowly begins with a string instrument playing before a piano and acoustic guitar join in to create a very calming but also dark atmosphere, alluding to what is about to take place on this album. “Kopfüber” goes for the throat immediately, with dissonant guitars, blast beats and vocalist Tim screaming his lyrics at you in a high, raspy register. The track takes a bit of a break on the back half before exploding back into high speed, with some swirling riffs that roll around the drum beats that Godvaser cranks out at break neck speed. The title track starts off in a more blackened death style, crawling along at a more mid-tempo paced then the previous track. The speed comes back with Godvaser pumping up the speed with some very tasty blast beats with the two guitarists Sergej and Lars shredding some sinister tremolo riffs. The track slows down with a guitar soloing over some soft drumming before ending with some blast beats and razor sharp riffing again. “Metropolist” is another single acoustic guitar instrumental with some samples of a German woman talking with what sounds like some sounds you’d hear in a city. Really nice pallet cleanser to lead you into the next track. “Briefe aus der Isolation” was the track that I heard from Toilet ov Hell and I can see why this track got stuck in their head. It starts off with an almost militaristic style riff that gets you nodding your head over some more blast beats before moving to an acoustic passage before kicking you right in the teeth with that riff again. This riff got stuck in my head for days and I kept going back to it quite often leading up to the release date. The track features a really killer guitar solo that bridges the two halves of the track perfectly. Tim’s vocal performance on this track really stands out. His cadence matches that main riff so well, like a commanding officer barking instructions at you during training exercises. “Verfall” starts with a single guitar strumming over a soft drum beat before going into a fast tremolo riff to break the song open. While the previous songs had a death metal feel to them, this one sees the post black vibe take back over with wailing, distorted guitars over those rolling blast beats that you hear in the genre. The atmosphere is more bleak and heavy on this one as well. This one is probably my favorite track of the album if had to pick one, very well composed and just super oppressive. “Neuanfang” is another acoustic track with some ocean sounds incorporated to let the listener breath again before the final two tracks take place. As much as I enjoy being sonically assaulted for 45 minutes, a nice reprise is always welcomed to collect myself. “Brandung Bricht” is the next one up and if you want a visual to go with this track, the band put out a music video for it which perfectly portays their style of music. The track starts off with a really fun, groovy riff before the black metal assault leaps out from the corner to grab you out of nowhere. Tim screams, snarls and growls over the onslaught until that riff returns to give the listener a quick break until the track veers back into the black metal direction again. The band continues to wind these light and dark moods through the track ever so perfectly, knowing at exactly the right moment to switch gears. The track fades out with another tasty guitar solo over some blast beats before starting the last track. “Gilman” starts off acoustically for about a minute until the drums kick in and Tim barks at the listener before a sample of a lady speaking begins over a single guitar and some lightning quick blast beats. As soon as she appears, she is gone, like a ghost in the night. The speed on this track is full speed ahead, with riffs that encircle the listener and leads them down into the dark. The female voice appears again as the guitars rip through some more tremolos and right back to Tim screaming in your face. Absolutely fantastic transitions by the band. Getting closer to the end of the track, we get a breakdown that leads back to our female voice mixed in with some fantastic drumming and wailing guitars that swirl around her voice as the song fades out slowly, ending an utterly fantastic album. I am not sure if I would have ever found this album if it had not been for the article. I am very glad I did take a chance on this album because it is honestly some of my favorite black metal of the year and is a very strong contender for my top 10 right now. I love finding these little gems tucked away in the crevices of the metal world. These guys are on Bandcamp for digital only at the moment for less than $10 American. Do yourself a solid and check these guys out.
- The Metal Architect
