Die Urkatastrophe

The already legendary band Kanonenfieber has released their second full length ‘Die Urkatastrophe’. To say that this is one of my most anticipated releases of this year might be an understatement. The only member of Kanonenfieber, Noise, does have other different projects like Non Est Deus and Leiþa. Not really familiar with the two other projects since I’ve been hyperfocussing on the earlier releases from Kanonenfieber like ‘Yankee Division’ and ‘Menschenmuhle’. Especially ‘Menschenmuhle’ is mostly spun being a full length instead of a two song EP like ‘Yankee Division’. With songs like ‘Dicke Bertha’ and ‘Die Slacht Bei Tannenberg’, Kanonenfieber has given me an amazing introduction to the WW1-themed black metal he produces.

With the popularity of Kanonfieber quickly rising, the current album is highly anticipated by many fans. Kanonenfieber gained its popularity through the accessible black metal and amazing live show. The live show I will be experiencing myself in November in Utrecht is going to be amazing without a single doubt. If you want to experience Kanonenfieber live, you can watch the live blu ray or if you want to have the full experience, please do go to one of their live shows this coming fall/winter. It is going to be worth it.

With the singles ‘Menschenmuhle’, ‘Panzerhenke’, ‘Der Maulwurf’ and ‘Waffenbruder’ all have been released throughout the year, Kanonenfieber has given us a lot of time to get used to the bomb called ‘Die Urkatastrophe’. With all of the singles being released from May until 18th of September, two days before the release on the 20th of September, I tended to lean more to the single ‘Der Maulwurf’.

‘Der Maulwurf’ is for me the embodiment of a catchy black metal song. It is nothing like a traditional black metal song whatsoever but the elements are all there. The scary aspect to the traditional tremolo picking. However what is not traditional is that there is a chorus that is hard not to sing along to. Even though it is in German, it’s as easy to sing along as to a Rammstein song after a few listens.

The sheer pain and suffering that is in this amazing piece of black metal is astounding. This is written with an incredible passion for the history and horrors of WW1. By hearing music made with such passion, it is almost inevitable to not not like ‘Die Urkatastrophe’. The incredible sad guitar melodies during ‘Ausblutungsslacht’ do make you think how the young guys have felt during those exhaustingly horror battles in places like Verdun and Tannenberg. An excellent musical portrait of the WW1 horrors while being accessible and not overly theatrical.

The lasting impact that ‘Die Urkatastrophe’ will have on Kanonenfiebers discography will be immense. Being signed to Century Media Records is already amazing but to have your AAA-record company release being such a staple as ‘Die Urkatastrophe’ is something to be proud of. All of the elements of a successful (black) metal album are there. The accessibility, ferocity and brutality are all there. Mix that with an amazingly selling European tour, Kanonenfieber is ready to conquer the metal world with their latest weapon in its armory ‘Die Urkatastophe’.

Since Lemmy sang about the horror in the trenches of the Great War, young guys bleeding to death, no matter on which side they fought for on “1916”, World War I became more and more popular in the metal scene. Nowadays countless bands write about this horrendous tragedy and probably one of the door openers for the next catastrophe, World War II. Kanonenfieber was founded in 2020 in Bavaria, Germany, and is going to release their second regular studio album in September. Their debut Menschenmühle (“Human Mill”) was already a very harsh and brutal black metal album with smart and interesting lyrics but they have evolved since 2020.

Die Urkatastrophe (“The Primal Catastrophe”) is both – more accessible but also slightly more uncompromising. First of all, it is interesting that they (like the band already did on their debut) use German speech samples from 1914 – 1918. This gives the songs a very special flair and somehow you can almost feel the mood the soldiers felt back then. But of course, with having all the deaths and war insanity in mind you always feel this bitterness remembering that all this destruction and hatred was just for nothing. The lyrics are all kept in German and everybody who knows this language knows that it isn't the softest one. It is more harsh and sounds unkind and this aspect matches really perfectly to the songs. Apropos hatred and bitterness – this is projected into the music very well, especially through the vocals Noise is using. In every song you have the feeling that he is full of hatred and bitterness. Let's take 'Menschenmühle' as a first example. The chorus is nagged and sounds slightly psychopathic and this expresses very well what the lyrics mean:

“Deutschland, Deutschland Kaiserreich (Germany, Germany imperial)
Kriegessucht und Wahnkrankheit, (addiciton to war and delusional illness)
Deutschland, Deutschland Vaterland (Germany, Germany fatherland)
Mordessucht im Wahnverstand“ (addiction to murder in delusional illness)

Although the songs are all really good and there is no filler in sight, there are two tracks that are a little bit more outstanding and got me instantly. The first one is a calmer one which turns out almost epic and heroic….if there weren't the bitter lyrics. That one is 'Waffenbrüder' which tells the story of two German soldiers who have known each other since their childhood and go to the front in France. So the story goes on, one of them gets wounded on the battlefield and has to go to the hospital. “Fortunately” he returns after some weeks and goes back into battle. But I guess that you can imagine how the story for both of them ends… just like the song very sad. And then we have 'Gott Mit Der Kavallerie' (“God With The Cavalry”) which is a very catchy and thrash-orientated song. Distorted vocals give the song also some death metal flair. But when the chorus sets in, this is a really heavy inferno. Musically it is an equivalent to a galloping cavalry. But yet again, there is no space here for any happiness because when the German soldiers meet the Belgian artillery, it doesn't turn into anything good for either one of them or their horses. Underlined this gets through the machine gun-like drumming in that part.

You'll probably find more of your personal favorites on the album very quickly, since as I said, all songs are top-notch. I would say that Die Urkatastrophe is a really good, well-produced album with interesting and thoughtful lyrics and it puts the horrors of war into good words and music and makes it a little bit easier to put yourself into this dark era of the 20th century. This one is recommendable for everybody who likes bands like 1914, Panzerfaust, or Minenwerfer because they don't only go lyrically but also musically in the same direction.

Rating: 9 out of 10

When I first listened to Menschenmühle (the album, not the single from this album) I vividly remember saying, "holy hell, it doesn't get much better than this!" I was still new to blackened death at the time, and the album completely hooked me. I stand by what I said - it doesn't get much better than this. But, now I realize that instead of soleley referring to that album, it refers to the band as a whole.

Kanonenfieber are an absolute powerhouse of blackened death metal, seamlessly weaving melodic elements into their brutality while Noise, the sole member, spews vocals that sound acidic. They are occasionally sung like a general telling his soldiers to charge head-first into battle, and other times get into choruses that are quite melodic and catchy, such as in Der Maulwurf. The album has lyrics relating to the first World War, inspired by the fact that Noises great-grandfather was a German veteran of said war. This provides a much-needed fresh look into the genre, as there is certainly no shortage of bands singing about the second World War, fewer about the first, and fewer still based on personal experiences. The lyrics do not glamorize war, as many bands do, they condemn it. Nothing about it makes you want to be found in the midst of battle, rather it makes you feel anxious, wondering how we allowed so many young men to die.

The instrumentation and mixing is impeccable. The guitar parts are simultaneously brutal and melodic, fitting between the drumming, vocals, and bass without burying or being buried by anything else. The riffs are dark and heavy, creating an atmosphere of dread and uncertainty. The second to final track, Ausblutungsschlact, adds some violins to the mix making it feel even more epic and grandiose. There are samples throughout the track, speeches and interviews from survivors from the war, which adds even more layers to the lyrical composition.

The album ends on a sombre number, an acoustic track with clean singing. It once again adds onto the lyrics, telling us how after the war no one got much happier. Sure, the war was over, and that was undoubtedly a good thing, but at what cost? Soldiers lives had been upended and many perished in the struggle. No one was truly happy, just relieved.

The one thing I would have to give the album a bit of criticism towards is the fact that many of the tracks sound very similar. Even still, the formula works so well that it negates that entirely. On top of that, there are exceptions such as the previously mentioned Ausblutungsschlact.

Kanonenfieber is an absolutely essential band, not just within blackened death metal but for metal as a whole. This album solidified their place among the greats of blackened death metal, a place that they had already begun to occupy with Menschenmühle. I look forward to seeing what Noise creates in the future, as I will certainly be keeping a keen eye on the band moving forward

Up until this point, Kanonenfieber has only released EP’s in order to not rush Menschenmühle’s successor, as Noise wanted to deliver something that would be as great as that release, without sounding like a copy of that album. His goal has definitely been reached with Die Urkatastrophe, an album that has the same feel as its predecessor, but still sounds unique within the band’s discography.

The album opens with ‘Grossmachtsfantasie,’ which essentially acts as an extension of the next track and first single ‘Menschenmühle.’ This is supported by the fact that this track is also present in the lyric video for this track. The opener sets the tone of the album, being an atmospheric track containing a sample of a WW1 speech, something that Kanonenfieber likes to do a lot, and is something we are going to see multiple times throughout this record.

When it comes to the music itself, it is not something new and groundbreaking within the realm of the Kanonenfieber sound. The album is very similar to the band’s other releases, especially productionwise. The production is basically identical to that of Menschenmühle, but that is only a good thing, as everything is crystal clear, while still sounding immensely heavy. This record explores all of the different aspects of Kanonenfieber, some songs like ‘Der Maulwurf’ are very melodic and reminiscent of the Der Füsilier EP, while others such as ‘Panzerhenker’ are heavier and groovier, more like the U-Bootsmann EP. These two EP’s represent the two extremes of the musical spectrum of Kanonenfieber, and songs from this album are found all over this spectrum, which makes for a very varied listening experience. While I like songs from both extremes, I find the best songs on the album are those that blend both sides evenly, like ‘Stormtrupp’ and ‘Lviv zu Lemberg.’

Die Urkatastrophe is a perfect successor to Menschenmühle, as it feels like a natural progression of the sound first established on that album, and is just as masterfully executed. Some tracks call back to the predecessor, like ‘Waffenbrüder’ that feels a lot like ‘Grabenlieder.’ Although I still prefer the band’s debut over this album, it is still a close battle between the two. One key element that separates the two records though, is the general feel. Die Urkatastrophe is very grandiose and is definitely better fit for live settings than Menschenmühle. The penultimate song ‘Ausblutungsschlacht’ even has symphonic elements that only adds to this grandiosity.

Noise is definitely one of the most talented musicians of our time, his songwriting skills are just downright incredible, and along with his mastery of guitars, bass, and drums, he creates masterpiece after masterpiece like its second nature to him. In the time between this album and Kanonenfieber’s debut, he has released four full-lengths with other projects, and three EP’s with this band, and still manages to make Die Urkatastrophe as astounding as Menschenmühle.

The guitar work is nothing but amazing, and the drums only amplify the greatness. Just listen to the bass drums during the track ‘Menschenmühle.’ The bass is very audible, but does not take too much attention, and it works incredibly well during the parts where it is isolated. The vocals are probably the least noteworthy part of this album, even though they are great, they just are not very unique within the confines of extreme metal. My favorite part of the debut was how well it captured the feeling of war, and this is a trend that continues with this release. Many of the songs have a very marching feel, mostly due to the drums, and they all have this certain uncompromising intensity, you are not allowed to let down your guard at any point, except for the interlude ‘Verdun.’ This album is entirely focused on the unforgiving nature of war, and while this is mostly expressed through the sheer heaviness of the music, it hits quite an emotional note with the amazing ‘Waffenbrüder.’

The album ends with ‘Als die Waffen kamen,’ an acoustic track very similar to the closing track of Menschenmühle, ‘Verscharrt und ungerühmt.’ This is the perfect ending to the album, as it feels very melancholic, like a reflection upon the horrors of the war. It feels like a song written back in the time of WW1, and something tells me that was also the intent.

Die Urkatastrophe is yet another masterpiece that contributes to Kanonenfieber’s perfect discography, as is an incredibly close contender for album of the year. Noise is a musician worthy of nothing but praise, the fact that he has managed to create yet another release that is near the level of Menschenmühle is simply astonishing. If you have somehow not heard this album yet, do yourself a favor and get to it.

Highlight tracks: Stormtrupp, Lviv zu Lemberg, Panzerhenker

Ever since the release of their debut album, 'Menschenmühle', Kanonenfieber have been putting out one masterpiece after the other. Noise has proven time and time again that he is a very capable and talented musician with passion for his work, rushing nothing and making sure his releases are neat and proper. Thus, it comes as no surprise that their newest album 'Die Urkatastrophe' is a solid, genius work that keeps you intrigued and interested throughout all 12 tracks.

Clean production and sharp, clear sound characterise Kanonenfieber’s music and help create a distinct tone that defines the band and their work. In my opinion, not only does it allow the listener to appreciate the melodies and instrumentals more, but it also creates a bold sound that, when combined with Noise’s rough vocals and the band’s lyrical context, invokes a lot of feelings and emotions. I also have to bring up the fact that, even without knowing German, Kanonenfieber’s works manage to invoke a sense of melancholy and dread in me that makes me feel like I’m the one experiencing the horrors of war.

The strongest tracks, in my opinion, have to be ‘Menschenmühle’, ‘Der Maulwurf’, ‘Sturmtrupp’ and ‘Ritter der Lüfte’. Even though there’s no weak or bad song in this release, Noise’s vocals in these specific tracks are exceptional and really convey the anger and despair of a soldier fighting in WW1. The guitars and drums are also amazing, and what I especially love is how almost every track has its own unique melodies and sounds that make it distinct while also keeping the album’s general sound and vibe. While there are one or two songs that are not as engaging, they do not lessen the full experience and do not leave you wanting, as even they have their strong moments.

The closing track, ‘Als die Waffen kamen’ wraps up the album in a very nice way. After listening to the previous 11 tracks and getting immersed in the style and atmosphere, you get hit by an unexpected emotional 3-minute “ballad” that solidifies the experience of listening to this release. Truly one of the best releases of the year and maybe the best work of Kanonenfieber so far.

Mastermind Noise is at it again with in 2024 with arguably his most prestigious project Kanonenfieber. After the release of their decent debut release "Menschenmühle" and the mighty strong EP "U-Bootsmann" in 2023 the southern German multi-intstrumentalist is back with another full length release in "Die Urkatastrophe". Yes, I had a lot anticipation for this album since I know how direct and uncompromising the songwriting and lyrical layout of Noise plays out. However I always found Kanonenfieber to shine more on the live stage, rather than on their releases. This album is proving the sheer opposite. Simply put: This is a banger and the closest contender for my personal album of the year up to now.

To be honest: The lyrical topic of WW1 is of course very interesting, but overused in current metal. From Sabaton to Minenwerfer, from power metal to black metal we have a lot of bands in a very broad genre spectrum who build their concept around the historical figure of one of the most gruesome wars in human history. Do we really need Kanonenfieber to go on the same path? Yes, we do! Because nobody does it like the German black/death metal project. They do not glorify war or use it to make their songs a poetic masterpiece. The texts are very critical and historically accurate, rather than entertaining. This adds up to a realistic listening experience and some gut-wrenching passages. It seems Noise wants us to feel like we are in the trenches or on the anti-aircraft-gun somewhere on the western front. As we already know from their past releases the songs are often underlined by speeches of German generals or politicians.

Generally "Die Urkatastrophe" follows a clearer path than "Menschenmühle", there is a red line throughout the tracks. "Grossmachtfantasie" and "Menschenmühle", the opening tracks of the album, follow the idea of German war obsession, "Panzerhenker" and "Lviv zu Lemberg" tell the stories of special soldiers and battle courses, while "Der Maulwurf" and "Waffenbrüder" turn the feeling into an anti-war direction. This one has it all and this is a big reason why this album is so high regarded by me. I feel like I am right on the battlefield, right in the trenches and I am surrounded by enemy soldiers. The immersion of "Die Urkatastrophe" is simply unreal.

Musically I fell that Kanonenfieber went a big step forward. The earlier releases already were very strong in this regard, but this one takes the musical spectrum to another level. Of course we have very hard passages ("Menschenmühle", "Panzerhenker"), but we also have incredibly fine and thought out guitar passages ("Waffenbrüder", "Lviv zu Lemberg") and we have calm passages scattered throughout the tracklist. I can understand if this can be overwhelming in general, but this is how this whole concept works. Kanonenfieber wants you to be crushed, wants you to be immersed and they want you to think about their songs in a deeper contexts.

Simply put, this is metal how it should be. I won't add much more to this review. Just listen to it and find yourself in the biggest man-made war, between enemy lines and roaring guitars.

Ah, another album about the Great War. How original. The artwork teaches us that the Reich wanted to kill each and every foe. Of course it refers to the Western Front, Verdun and the other places where so many young men died a “patriotic” and completely senseless death. The Germans played their part in this in the person of Erich von Falkenhayn and others, but so did the Western Allies, if I'm not mistaken. On a side note, before Germany declared mobilisation, the Russians and the French (albeit only just an hour ahead of the Germans) were already on their way to the future battlefields. The cover of “Die Urkatastrophe” ignores this, but okay, it’s just art and does not need to be historically true.

Lyric-wise, Kanonenfieber also focus on the German side. Maybe they want to show the Teutonic attitude, this suicidal fascination for war which dominated at the first days of the war. Now they are historically correct, but this misguided mindset was no German phenomenon as well. So let’s come to the music. Kanonenfieber play a kind of industrial black metal with wannabe catchy choruses (“Der Maulwurf”) and I promise you, I have rarely heard more boring and meaningless black (death) metal. Maybe the industrial approach is a good match with the historical fact that World War I was the first mechanized, completely dehumanised war in the history of mankind. If this was the intention, it makes sense, but this does not mean that Kanonenfieber’s style awakens even the slightest emotions in me. The computerized hammering of the quasi-opener “Menschenmühle” just sucks and the thought “black metal without atmosphere is no black metal at all” comes to my mind. (And I also don’t think that the album really dishes up death metal – if this is the case, it is far away from my Bolt Thrower / Grave / Vomitory understanding of this style.) The guitar lines are just as pathetic. Fortunately, a few exceptions confirm the norm. “Lviv to Lemberg” is a track which surprises with lively and coherent guitar work. Anyway, the song is too long, its silent break makes the track’s intensity implode. “Gott mit der Kavallarie” presents a promising guitar line at the beginning, a really good one and perhaps the best of the entire album. The fanfare-like chorus is based on it, that’s cool, but once again the slower part in the middle of the song devalues the number to a certain degree.

In terms of sound quality, you can represent every opinion. For example this one: oh, it’s so powerful, so clear, violent and heavy. A legitimate point of view, doubtlessly. But I just feel attacked by soulless sterility. Especially the voice lacks authenticity and charisma, in particular during the first songs. As the album progresses, things get slightly better or I just get used to it, who knows. One thing is for sure, these sometimes death metal affine Eisregen-vocals-for-beginners which meet Rammstein-on-extreme-metal may have their appeal for some. I beg your pardon, I just find it infantile and seeking for cheap shock effects. And I have another problem with the full-length: the longer it lasts, the more monotony gains the upper hand. Despite a few good moments, individuality is not the most striking feature of the single songs, to say it politely. The album would have benefited from a length of 40 minutes, because for the meagre amount of variety that the formation offers, the disc is about 10 minutes too long. But maybe monotony is a good thing here, because the worst track is the totally different non-metal closer that wants to be emotional. Too bad, it is just useless and its German lyrics remain superficial and weak.

Summing up, World War I is a very interesting topic. It surely makes sense to read Clark’s “The Sleepwalkers” or McMeekin’s “July 1914. Countdown to War”. I could recommend more books, but due to the fact that this is a music-related archive, another recommendation is Minenwerfer’s “Feuerwalze”. I know, their mix of historical samples and extreme music is not too far away from “Die Urkatastrophe” (at least the album’s name hits the mark), but simply better. Not to mention the title track of Saxon’s “Call to Arms”. This is really a song that pays a worthy tribute to the soldiers of both sides who died for nothing.