Band: Seelenmord
Album: …And We Will Find Only Solitude – Part 1
Release year: 2011
Genre: Black Metal
Seelenmord is an Argentinian Black Metal project consisting of two members – Daniel and Enrique (no second names given). They have just released their debut EP, “…And We Will Find Only Solitude – Part 1,” and plan to record and release several more for free via mediafire and other file sharing sites.
First off, I have to say that the first thing my Mother said upon hearing “The World Cries in Rain” was that the chord progression reminded her “of Abba.” How Kvlt is she. The songs, underneath a layer of brutality and “rawness,” do have fairly musical chord progressions, and enjoyable melodies. That said, they do not detract from the overall intensity of the record, far from it; it adds a layer of complexity that provides a challenge to the listener: peel away the layers and find your reward. The group’s guitar work doesn’t exactly leap into devastatingly melts-your-face-like-corpsepaint-on-a-hot-day territory, but such is the nature of Black Metal. The songs are less technical proficiency and more the capture of an atmosphere – that said, the addition of a full minute of wind sounds on either end of the EP seems slightly pretentious. Thankfully, that is easy to overlook, because the brutality is upped to a maximum with punishing blastbeats, tremolo riffs and utterly indecipherable vocals, particularly evident on standout track “Hunters.”
When most people think of “Melodic Black Metal,” they’ll think of bands like Dimmu Borgir, but comparing such a band with the brutality of Seelenmord is like comparing the holocaust with sticking a frog in the microwave. The production values are understandably low – the EP is self-financed – but that lends towards the rawness that the group is trying to achieve. However, this does mean that much is lost with regard to recording quality (not that that would matter for a black metal release). I feel that the drums and vocals could have been mixed a bit higher than they are, as it is, the vocals seem like an addition to the actual music, rather than part of it, and the drums could certainly have done with being clearer. But brutality is achieved outstandingly.
I really like this release. It’s brutal and it’s awesome. Sure, it’s not been polished or refined, but it’s well written and filled with an underground spirit. It’s definitely worth a look, for all you grim warriors out there who just can’t get enough Norwegian black metal churching-burning anthems on cassette tapes. Can’t wait for the next EP.
4.1/5
Alasdair Dunn of Norderobring
Valkyrian Music 