Drottnar

To some music fans Unblack Metal may see like a contradiction of the highest order, even blasphemous, to others it is a way to depict Christianity positively while still playing music that incorporates the characteristics of the Black Metal genre.

Enter Drottnar, a European Unblack Metal band that is carving out a niche all on their own. Their latest release Welterwerk combines everything one would expect from a solid Black Metal album such as fast tempos, shrieking vocals, highly distorted guitars played with lots of, double-kick drumming, and quite unusual song structure with a message of redemption and hope.

There is a certain hauntingly gloomy tone created on this disc with a mixture of complex instrumentation and eerily raspy, gut-wrenching screams. As is characteristic of this genre there are also some very slow, ambient, almost ethereal musical passages that are intriguing to say the least. The track “Victor Comrade” employs this technique by applying what appears to be a dissonant horn loop running through it as well making it almost hypnotizing and what I feel is the most interesting track on the disc.

Admittedly, I am new to the Black/Unblack Metal camp and I am not schooled in all of its nuances but I found Welterwerk to be quite good. All of the tunes on this disc are intricate in detail and the playing is quite skillful. Vocally it took a bit of getting used to but once I began to acclimate to it I actually began to sort of dig it. I especially like the idea that the lyrical content does not focus solely on all things evil and malevolent. This was a big selling point for me, as I do not identify at all with the schools of thought that run through traditional Black Metal.

Granted Drottnar is not for everyone, even still after a few spins through Welterwerk I found that it sort of got under my skin.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Ad Hoc Revolt
02. The Kakistocracy Catacombs
03. Autonomic Self-Schism
04. Niemand Geht Vorbei
05. Victor Comrade
06. Stardom In Darkness
07. Rullett
08. Destructions Czar
09. Vulgo Vesper

Run Time: 52:09