Flammentriebe

Dornenreich came back with a vengeance here, especially when they started to stagnate a bit in my opinion. Here there are lots of fresh ideas, and the songs are well thought out and sound just beautiful. Instead of a depressive folky whispered album such as I.L.G., they expertly blended folk elements in with metal, and created a seamless instant classic of an album.

First and foremost, the musicianship is quite amazing here. I have a feeling Jochen Stock is the driving force regarding creativity and songwriting (taking a gander at his side project Angizia says it all), and he came back from sabbatical to influence this monster. When the album starts, it sounds like a continuation of their previous two albums, an acoustic guitar intro, some whispering, but then the blasting starts and the screams start, and get my blood pumping. Flammenmensch is a great start, as it shows a divergence from their previous path and shows a more energetic and powerful Dornenreich, in the vein of the BIZTZD era.

The power and furiosity of the album is really the only thing that their back catalog has in common with this album, though. There are a few very important and readily apparent changes the band has made. Long gone is the synthesizer, replaced with real string instruments, which gives the album a very organic feel, and compliments the softer interludes and songs like the final track Erst Deine Traene Loescht Den Brand. This is a quintessential example of what I mean. Soft and melancholic acoustic guitars are paired with the beautiful and sorrowful violins, creating a somber and depressing element. As the song progresses, the electric guitars get their introduction and a cacophonous finale that crescendos before falling into another acoustic outro paired again with violins to finish the album.

On the whole, this album is melancholy and beauty put into musical form. I really loved this album, the song structures, the mix and the vocals. Everything is just right; not too much extranneous bullshit, and unnecessary additives. This album is precise, concise, and sets the bar for every other metal album coming out this year.

Highly recommended!!