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Fimbulvet - Frostbrand - Eines Bildnis Tracht review



Reviewer:
7.2

3 users:
7
Band: Fimbulvet
Album: Frostbrand - Eines Bildnis Tracht
Release date: October 2014


01. Intro
02. Eines Bildnis Tracht
03. Totenbeschwörer
04. Uralt
05. Wüste Wahnsinn
06. Hexenwerk
07. Brüder Im Geiste
08. Fesseln Der Asche
09. Monument
10. Gratwanderer

Frostbrand - Eines Bildnis Tracht comes straight from the mouths of Fimbulvet, who themselves come from the mouth of Germany - home of many fabulous black-ish, pagan-ish, folk-ish bands like Black Messiah, Finsterforst, and Falkenbach. Fimbulvet's fourth installment is no masterpiece, but it stacks up to their countrymen pretty well.

The main obstacle I encounter when listening to this album is the vocals. The cleans could use some work; they sound uncertain, somewhat forced, and never entirely confident in their emotion. If strengthened, they could invoke some of that bold warrior spirit that an album like this clearly aims for, but in songs like "Uralt" and "Eines Bildnis Tracht" that feature them so prominently, the uneasy tip-toeing detracts from the otherwise dramatic envelopment. On "Fesseln der Asche" especially, the lackluster chorus drains some of the ragged, primal energy worked up by the rest of the song. Fortunately, the harsh vocals cover the spread competently - especially well, in fact, with some of the tastiest growls I've heard in quite a long time. You'll also find some superb guitar and bass work in out-of-the-way places, never to be undone by over-production.

While you often get the sense that Frostbrand - Eines Bildnis Tracht intends to take you in the direction of folk-black metal, or perhaps some particularly hallowed-sounding meloblack, it never quite entirely makes the leap; instead, it spends much of its time filthily enriching itself in blackened thrash. Of course, some tracks, like the rough and magnificent "Brüder Im Geiste," fall pretty squarely into the pagan folk domain. It can be confusing trying to figure out exactly what the album hopes to achieve, but at least it has a fairly enjoyable go at whatever it's having a go at.

"Totenbeschwörer" reeks with a rancid, sinister sludginess that is very becoming of Fimbulvet. I'd almost suggest pursuing this line of thinking were the blackened thrash genre not so heinously overpopulated already, but I do believe that Fimbulvet would prosper more substantially from expanding further on the folk elements and tightening up the screws a bit. The true highlight of the album is the aforementioned "Brüder Im Geiste," although after that point, Eines Bildnis Tracht starts to lose focus and veer into less-compelling territory. The final chorus of "Monument" cleans up fantastically with a burst of energy that would have come in handy much earlier in the song, but it marks the only real saving grace of the last third of the album.

Overall, Frostbrand - Eines Bildnis Tracht is a fun listen, despite the many times I misspelled its name while writing this review. It certainly has an auspicious start, and as I mentioned earlier, those growls are simply fantastic. Check "Eines Bildnis Tracht," "Totenbeschwörer," and "Brüder Im Geiste" for some strong black/pagan/thrash/folk/miscellaneous metal.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 5
Production: 6





Written on 09.02.2015 by I'm the reviewer, and that means my opinion is correct.


Comments

Comments: 1   Visited by: 4 users
23.08.2020 - 16:42
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Just listened it I agree whit your thoughts about vocals, IMO their are best here in this album.
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