Winterblut - Grund: Gelenkkunst

'Grund...' is a revisitation of Winterblut's sophomore effort, and one of the more breakthrough efforts of mainman L'Hiver. Originally more of a generic speedy Black Metal style, 'Grund' was the first step forwards aiming for a Depressive/ Experimental Black Metal style that was slow but simple and not so distorted that it felt like a Xasthur rip off. Much of Winterblut's depressive style lies in the slow, deliberate pace that is focused on the guitars which are certainly downtuned and quieter than one might expect (the drums sound even more solid) and when combined with the vocals, they are almost drowned out. Much like Xasthur though, the notes of the music can be very repetitive such as on "Wein ein Tropfen...;" it is easy to compare the work here on 'Grund' to that of 'To Violate The Oblivious.' Other tracks like "Grund: Abgrund" pick up a bit more pace as opposed to the slow plodding tone of the rest of the tracks and even from when the guitars are in overdrive it adds a bit of a progressive touch to the music, driving away monotony.

The only downside to this album is that it feels like it is split in two halves of sound when listening to each track. On one side is the guitars versus the vocals and drums which are appreciably louder and altogether the music just doesn't mix as well one might think. Even when considering a band like Xasthur which so many people have complained as of just being 'senseless noise,' everything melded well together to create that terrifying atmosphere. Winterblut is certainly interesting to hear for the average Black Metal fan, and possibly even moreso than Xasthur due to the cleaner tone, but as far as having everything go smoothly it just feels like a rough ride. The repetitive and sometimes semi upbeat nature of the music can often lure in fans of Black n' Roll, but the slow pace is not enough to get the energy ball rolling for those kinds of fans to really get into the music. Overall, this is depressive, slow yet clean Black Metal that sheds away the generic cloak that Winterblut might have used to carry, but it still made a a mark of needing a lot of work. Since then Winterblut has released a few more albums, most notably two of concept work that hopefully with stir up more nightmares to fans to enjoy on a thoughtful, even level.

  1. Die Krücken, Das Irrlicht
  2. Treffen: Beklemmend
  3. Wenn Ein Tropfen fällt
  4. Und Sorgen Zu ertragen
  5. Vom Endlosen Schrei
  6. Am 32. September
  7. Qualenduster
  8. Grund: Abgrund
  9. 9 Nahm Er Mit
  10. Der Lange Weg Und Der Kurze Traum