Saturday, March 21, 2009

Nachtgeschrei - Am Rande der Welt (2009)

If you've been lacking some melodic German folk metal of late, then you may wish to sample the sophomore effort of Nachtgeschrei, which serves up a slice of liter metal fare with some moving bagpipes and synthesizers, ever tasteful and used solely to drive the ghostlike native tongue of vocalist Holger Franz. Though the band cites In Extremo as an influence, and there are some similarities, this is far catchier.

The simmering acoustics of "Fiur" lament the day before the heavier guitars accumulate with some searing melody, parting for the first vocal track "Muspili" which features some great pipe playing and hard rocking verse. Franz' voice uses a mid range here but each line is delivered with passion, his performance throughout the album is memorable. "Herz aus Stein" and "Fernweb" are both pretty amazing pick me ups with vibrant melodies soaring atop well selected, driving metal chords. "Niob" has some shaky and haunting vocals with a big chorus breakdown. "Lauf" flows from grooving acoustics to another wall of majestic melody. Other good tunes include "Der Totmacher" and the wonderful closer "Glut in euren Augen".

This is pretty much pure pagan folk, but if you're expecting snarls or growls this is not the place. The band sounds fantastic thanks to a high production standard, whether it's the acoustic builds or the infallible sense of melody across the soaring chorus. The vocals are original, captivating and never descend into the silly antics of similar bands. This is one manly, excellent album, well worth tracking down if you like your folk metal on the playful side i.e. Korpiklaani.

Verdict: Win [8/10]


http://www.nachtgeschrei.de/

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