No idea how Klabautamann from Germany see themselves and seen that I am still in semi-holiday mode, I am going to be lazy and refer to them as a progressive metal band, If you start listening to the album, you will immediately notice a lot of of post and black metal influences. I can even pinpoint Alcest, ISIS (the band!) and even some Opeth.
But listen more closely to the song structures. There
is definitely no shortage of riffs but the band
doesn’t really do in choruses and hooks. The music is
constantly changing and mutating but all in manner
that feels natural. This is the sort of music that
requires concentration, focus to be fully enjoyed.
Maybe quite an effort for people with the attention
span of a goldfish but in return the listener gets
amazing, beautifully executed passages.
Obviously if you are going to make an ambitious record like that, you need to ensure that not only your music is top notch material but the sound quality of your recordings need to be pristine as well.
And that is definitely the case for “Smaragd”. The
guitars have a great, clear and yet crunchy tone, the
drums are not triggered to set off an entire minefield
when the drummer as much as sneezes and behold, there
is even audible bass! An actual bass guitar! Not this
low, undefined rumble that is mixed all the way to the
back and you can only hear it when you crank your
subwoofer up to 11. And all the instruments ring
through oh so wonderfully. The only thing that I find
somewhat disappointing is that the clean vocals,
especially in the opening song “Into Depression”,
don’t really cut through in the mix and sound “dry”. I
don’t hear any delay or reverb. Perhaps an artistic
choice but I love it when a clean, lush vocal sits
nicely in the mix. The black metal voices on the other
hand sound terrific and I can even make out what the
singer is saying!
Since this is the kind of record for which you need to make time, I doubt that I would put this on very often but it has definitely made curious about Klabautamann’s live show.
Again, fans of Alcest and ISIS with a comfy sofa and a pair of Sennheiser headphones will dig this.
Since this is the kind of record for which you need to make time, I doubt that I would put this on very often but it has definitely made curious about Klabautamann’s live show.
Again, fans of Alcest and ISIS with a comfy sofa and a pair of Sennheiser headphones will dig this.
For all your couch potato needs:
https://klabautamann.bandcamp.com/album/smaragd
- Ivo VirusWithShoes -
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar