Artist: Winselmutter
Title: Schattentod in der Leibeswelt
Type: Album
Label: Digital / Sapivon Records
This German band from Münster came to my attention via a Misanthropic Art reposted statement of theirs concerning their fine and unequivocal stand against the far right and their absolutely adamant statement (with which I concur) that there is no such genre as ‘female fronted’.I mean you gotta at least listen to a band that is so spot on. It was made even better (for me, as its how I like my black metal) that the tracks appear to be wholly concerned with good black metal occult/horror/folklore/pagan things. A full on black metal band. So how is the music?
The opening track ‘Desecrated Hope’ begins with a seriously doooom intro, the buzzing guitar in the background adding to the sense of malaise and the melody slow until they drop the hammer. The pace picks up almost instantly, a dark and bitter cold riff with a superbly atmospheric melody weaving over the top. The power in the drumming, the deep bass give real heft to their sound and the vocals and superbly unhinged; growls, barks, screeches but perfectly used. Very impressive first impression.
‘Black Moss’ follows with a tight and intense feel, the key changes down into the depths work so well and the almost dissonant guitar runs leave you perfectly off balance.
Style wise this is, in the best way, what I would call raw but orthodox black metal; the sound is that excellent balance between the buzzing low fi edge and the dense rhythmic orthodox sound and just that hint of ‘don’t give a fuck’ snarl. The vocals bring an air of utter insanity and chaos when needed so that songs can descend into this wonderful maelstrom of ranting and swirling and battery; like being trapped in a dungeon, a mace wielding madwoman beating you to a pulp…
Winselmutter also enjoy the slowing of things here and there too, the sense of DSBM never far away – ‘Desolation Forest’ is a prime example as internal demons are seemingly externalised, strained, horrific vocals in an argument with themselves as the riff stomps slowly along before a fresh head of steam sends it into a clattering run.
Have I said this sounds deranged enough yet? Good, because it is in the absolute best sense.
There is the two part song here as well: ‘Abandonment’ and ‘Redemption’. The first part seems full of anger, the music bearing a sharp edged attack. The second part begins with a crawl , slowly rising as some clean cries raise in the background which offer me no comfort but work to emphasise the eerie quality here.
‘Graveyard Curse’ is a pulsing, primitive black metal raid reeking of the 80s lo-fi sound. Uncompromised, dark and that shift between the basic punding riff and the more flowing melodic section is top notch stuff.
They close with ‘Winselmutter’ itself. For those without the internet…(?) od the inclination to search, this is a spirit of German folklore, the ‘whining mother’ kind of like the Banshee that is a harbinger of death. The song itself is a strange and twisting affair from full clatter to slow and twisted doomed stylings. An uneasy place to leave me.
Debut album, with a strange and unusual sound of insanity and chaos. Twisted raw black metal with a doomed heart that never seems to walk in a straight line. They already have their own dark personality on show, a nightmare sound and a confrontational attitude. For something with inner passion and demons and a refusal do anything than explore their own twisted path this is a band that could go in any direction and I hope to be along for the ride.
Gizmo
Walking The Liminal Space 