Raubritter

I received this EP several years ago and have only got around to reviewing it now.

The album tracks are open to debate as to whether they class as BM, highly melodic and tedious with a very clean production. They would, I suppose sound like Children of Bodom do to a DM fan). These four tracks are at best a highly clean and boring melodic guitar riff with some average, pro forma vocals over the top.

The best thing I can say about this EP is that the CD disc itself looked really cool with it being completely see-through around the outside.

This EP strikes me as a band that are resting its laurels entirely on its past "achievements". The music seems to lot lack effort, it lacks song writing ability and that very important ability in BM - creating an atmosphere, something this EP lacks badly. I have no doubt that if this album were released by some unknown band it would be getting an even bigger pasting on here than it is now.

The first track starts with an acoustic guitar. And then it turns into well produced black metal with monotonous riffs, fast drumming and harsh vocals.


It gets very boring after a short time, because everything is monotnous. And the vocals of Wolf are harsh, but there is a lack of real aggression. Just doing rough vocals is not enough to create a raw atmosphere. You have to put in emotions like hate and anger. Otherwise it sounds as boring as this release does.


The drummer does a good job, but he is playing the same rhythm six songs on. Boring.
The guitars not bad, but it’s like I mentioned it before: Nothing changes. Six songs with the same, average riffs that any average underground black metal band could play, too.


So, you now know that this is boring. Now I tell you what is bad here, too.
Wolf’s English pronunciation is so bad that it always sounds like somebody is doing a parody. And two of six songs have lyrics in English. So two songs losing points even because the vocalist is too cackhanded to pronunciate English words. Really pitiful.


The only good thing here is the clear production. I know that a lot of fans of oldschool black metal like garage productions, but I don’t. So if you’re a fan of garage productions, you would find nothing good here.

I have been contemplating whether to acknowledge (or even validate?) the existence this particular release with a review or not for quite a while, and finally I have come to the decision that whats needs to be said needs to be said.

What happened to the once honourable name of Absurd since the release of the appalling "Werwolfthron" album has been and continues to be a travesty, a disgrace, a shameless cash grab at the expense of legends, and ultimately treason. Nothing of the essence of what the real Absurd really meant and still means is present any longer, and what came in its place was less than a shadow of the past, and more of an insult to the name, its followers and its meaning. Where the old Absurd carried you back into old, glorious times of thousand flag marches, searchlight domes and nights lit by torches, times defined by blood and spirit, the new Absurd just make you think of tattooed, sweaty - part obese - Skinheads in an alcohol daze chanting the doctrine of braindead modern pseudo right-wing extremist youth organizations that hold as much to the original German "nazi party" in terms of spirituality, philosophy or ideology as the Backstreet Boys do to Pink Floyd. Where the old Absurd stood as the order of the new templars, the new Absurd stands as incestous klan bikers, where the old Absurd let your mind drift through the marble hall of the Wewelsburg, the new Absurd lead your mind to the football stadium hooligan brawl pit, and so forth.

And really, there is nothing redeeming at all about this, and that really is the saddest part. And its not just the nauseating fact that Wolf thinks he can cash off the name Absurd (and win little Black Metal kids over for his raise-the-right-arm moron club) by mangling recycled Heldentum riffs through a mainstream production while managing to sound even more lackluster in composition than the original, no, the worst part is the complete lack of understanding for the audial harmonics of the German language coming from these self-declared patriots. Just take the chorus of "Die Rote Rune", a chain of "dark" vowels ("o" and "u"), over the thread of a horrible alliteration of "r", coming out as a sound that mostly resembles the sound infants make when drooling in awe, but nothing even remotely suitable for pagan poetry. And there still is the new version of the Absurd classic "Green Heart", something that is probably the single hardest moment of this MCD to put my feelings about it into words. Well, for one thing it just seems impossible to figure out how the drummer of new Absurd can produce a good number of great classic Absurd cover songs that capture the raw, elitary spirit of the originals pretty well with his own band Luror, but partake in such a blatant insult performed by a band that dares putting on the name of the band they self-proclaimedly pay tribute to. But I don't blame him, really. With a band consisting of one Heldentum member and one Luror member, and music that sounds like a mainstream teeny pop version of Heldentum, its obvious who's calling the shots here. But that's just on the side, and didn't describe my contempt for the raping of "Green Heart" yet. Well, imagine you find your wife in bed with your best friend, or your father, engaged in bizarre bondage bukkake action, you will feel offended out of yourself, betrayed, disgusted near vomiting... A skinhead “pagan” pop metal version of a timeless classic? Nauseating.

All in all, I urge you to stay away from this abomination, and everything else this version of Absurd has released since “Werwolfthron”. You will not want any of this braindead, ideology-free and spiritually empty cash grab, and if you have a bit of integrity left within you you will want to boycott it at any chance.

After the release of the great "Totenlieder" CD, I was very anxious for the next release. And yeah, "Raubritter" is a very good release too.

The music is similar to "Totenlieder". That means this is Black Metal to shout along, with great melodies. The titletrack and opener "Raubritter" is the best song. Very melodic and quite fast this is a real good hymn for friends of this knd of music. The other songs are similar to "Raubritter" and there are no great changes in style. "Die Rote Rune" and "Permafrost" are slower than the other songs, which brings variation to this release. The more clean vocals, which appeared sometimes on "Totenlieder" are reduced to a minimum. The english vocals on "Green Heart" and "As the Fullmoon disappears" sound sometimes a little bit "funny" as the vocalist's pronounciation is not the best. Nevertheless the songs remain great, though "Totenlieder" was all in all the better release.

Everybody who liked "Totenlieder", will like this one. Check it out!