AND • Aeternus • LP

This Charming Man Records

"Post Black Metal" with icy, rasping vocals in German – can that actually work?
It can – if it’s done like this. AND’s guitar work occasionally recalls Ahab, and the sound is pleasantly transparent, not muddy at all, yet heavy and powerful. When it comes to darkness, few can rival AND – this is no kids’ party and certainly no hipster gathering. So anyone already fond of their ultra-dark labelmates ABEST is in good hands here.

I can already hear the Trve Metal crowd complaining, because AND has more in common with visionaries like Terra Tenebrosa, Der Weg einer Freiheit, Secrets of the Moon, or Altar of Plagues than with Bathory. But actually, the band is closer in spirit than many others: it’s about decay, about “shadows,” about “malice.” The vocals are the very definition of lightlessness and negativity.

There are plenty of buzzing “bee-swarm” guitar moments and creative ideas in the guitar work, as well as slow, dragging doom passages with clear production – and also bursts of furious speed – so I find genre labels rather unnecessary. This is exciting music, perfect for thoughtful, brooding moments alone in the dark.

A band like this absolutely belongs on the Roadburn stage!