Geburt

I’ve often discussed the difficulties musicians have in the industry of finding a balance between ambient and metal, particularly in regards to black metal, a field which tends to overcompensate in one area whilst neglecting the other. There have been exceptions to the rule with bands like Lustre who have recently made attempts at pioneering a Burzum-esque sound whilst concentrating almost entirely on the ambient aspects, whilst allowing the metal aspects to subtly fuse there way into the mindset through the back door as the ambiance penetrates the foreground. I would consider bands like Lustre to be a “one of a kind”. It’s not often that bands such as Lustre come along and undo all the apprehension that comes associated with ambient black metal. The most successful bands within this sub-genre tend to make the ambient contingent a silent partner, only subtly working its magic beneath the mire of the black metal aspirations that work at consuming the listener with a more traditional style. Allvaters Zorn, a two man band from the gifted black metal nation of Germany, are one of these types of bands who portray their lyrical themes with a zest for metal and a tinge of ambiance beneath the distorted surface.

A rather unknown entity, Allvaters Zorn have quietly snuck up on the black metal fan base like a beast stalking its unaware prey. The dangers of the world are seemingly far away to this timid creature, but the beast is only a short distance from its main course of the day. Having been previously unaware of their existence before clumsily stumbling upon this debut, entitled ‘Geburt’, I had expected little from Allvaters Zorn in the way of shaking up the black metal underground and causing it to stir, moving simultaneously in the direction of the band like a flock of birds evading a predator. Although the crowds of adoring fans have not been quick to cash in on this quirky ambient black metal band from a notorious region of the world, there has been a steady increase in the amount of people becoming aware of Allvaters Zorn’s existence. ‘Geburt’ is an incredibly accessible ambient black metal piece which leans more towards an atmospheric stance along the lines of the intelligible Dornenreich, in certain respects, an illustrious philosophy inspired Austrian band, or even that of the nature inspired Agalloch, again in certain respects, who have small ties to black metal themselves.

Given these two references, I could imagine a number of potential fans flocking towards this enigmatic charmer, though don’t be fooled into thinking this is a direct collaboration of the sounds by those two bands because it isn’t. Allvaters Zorn are a creative band and their individuality often shines through during this record in all aspects of the instrumentation and probably in the lyrics, which are in German. The lyrical themes, though somewhat overused in this field, are intelligent enough to suggest that the music isn’t the only form of creativity that spruces up this encouraging debut from a band that makes me feel like I’ve just had a warm drink on a cold winters day, despite the nature of the vocals, which are often harshly rasped. The instrumentation, along with the clean vocals, sounds like the colourful autumn leaves falling from the saddened trees who feels like it’s losing its children. The vivid imagery of colours, depiction of nature and heroic battle scenes akin to bands like Summoning make Allvaters Zorn an intriguing entity to say the least. A lot of the instrumentation is catered to those who like a lighter, watered down sense of black metal. The song writing plays an important part in making the band as accessible to the newcomer as they are. It factors in melody and mellowed out sections in with repetition and traditions.

This isn’t a negative, it just means that the songs are milder and a lot more accepting of lighter passages that the vast amount of black metal bands floating around these days. The continuous use of an audible bass and clean vocals are a particular highlight of this feeling. A lot of the instrumentation is also slowed down to mid pace to cater to those who feel fast black metal is inaccessible to the more mellow character. Mix the rock vibe of Dornenreich that filtered through to their music in the latter stage of their career with the clean nature inspired sound of Agalloch and you have an indication of what Allvaters Zorn sounds like. Amidst this mellow sound, the band uses synths rather well, smoothing out any rigid textures that the distortion of the guitars might bright to the atmospheric soundscapes and whilst the drums and guitars do feature some repetition, the creativity factor is increased by the presence of a bass guitar which fuses its own melodies into the mixture whilst the distorted repetitive drive is occurring at the forefront. I wouldn’t consider ‘Geburt’ to be particularly memorable, but it does have a lasting appeal as it offers a mellow side to black metal which isn’t often shown in this day and age.