(written by Islander)
The German pagan/black metal band Asenheim are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. That’s an exceptionally long time for the life of any metal band, and Asenheim have filled those years with releases — no long hiatuses, no deaths and rebirths, just a steady progression of creativity. To commemorate this milestone anniversary, Asenheim will have their tenth album, Elbenblut, released on April 24th by Dominance of Darkness Records.
The new album is again the coordinated work of Asenheim founder Tiwaz and second member of long standing, Valfor. It’s an 11-song, 70-minute opus whose themes are set in the Tolkein universe, and we’re premiering a lyric video (in German) for one of those songs today — “Der Wächter der Nacht“.
As we’ve come to expect from Asenheim, this new song is an evolving and multifaceted experience, very much like a changing narrative whose events and emotional consequences bring into play a range of stylistic ingredients for their expression.
At the outset, ethereally wafting flute-like tones and a folkloric acoustic-guitar melody create a pensive aura of mystery, mysticism, and melancholy. A brighter shimmering melody rises up, seizing attention with its intensity and quickly hinting at change — which turns out to be explosive.
Just as Sauron’s Eye appears in the video, a harrowing howl erupts, joined by furiously hammering drums and dismally throbbing riffage. Those high, searing sounds continue to fluidly flow, but the vocals are savage and scalding, and a vividly rippling guitar harmony creates an atmosphere of frenzied but mythic conflict.
The drums gallop and boom; the guitars roil in fire, searing and violent in their intensity; high above, those ethereal tones become blazing and frenzied as well. When Asenheim turn down the heat and the speed, heroic horn-like tones create splendor and the music seems to panoramically expand, creating a different kind of heart-pounding experience.
Near the end, a fleet-fingered guitar solo seizes center stage — electrifying to hear, but stricken in its mood — and then the music blazes, sweeps, and drives hard again to create an exhilarating yet still emotionally harrowing finale.
The music brings to life the more daunting, savage, and perilous aspects of Tolkien’s mythic world, as does the artwork in the video.
Dominance of Darkness will release Elbenblut on CD and vinyl LP formats. For more info about the album, keep an eye on the locations linked below — and also give a listen to the album’s previously released single “Wo die Schatten drohen“.
DOMINANCE OF DARKNESS:
https://www.dod-records.de/
https://dod-records.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dominanceofdarkness
ASENHEIM:
https://asenheimofficial.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/asenheimblackmetal