Band:	Ekpyrosis
Album:	Weisse Nacht
Style:	Avantgarde metal, Black metal
Release date:	2013
Guest review by:	Karlabos

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If there's a person in the whole atmospheric black metal scene who is very often overlooked and deserves recognition, it is this anonymous masked guy who comes up with a set of songs from the outer world from times to times, and then crawls back into his chamber.
The third album of this one man band is Weisse Nacht, it has six slightly long tracks and the tracks are untitled, just like on his second album. This is because he chooses to set aside minor things such as track titles in order to concentrate on what is really important: atmospheric black metal. And on this release you can expect to find atmospheric black as its finest.

It starts with the riffs. Oh, those mesmerizing riffs, they are his trade mark. Where else would one find more than 6 minute long songs which change the riff about only three times, and you would still stay with longing for more of it? That's exactly what happens here. The mesmerizing melodies of those riffs will absorb you, and will keep your mind busy. You won't notice the time flowing, and you'll have the sensation that something is about to happen, then you will wait and wait for it, as the guitars become more and more intense, and in the end they will reach nothing, and you will feel the urge to listen to the song again.

Then there is that somewhat haunting clear spoken voice, which we call vocals, but it's more like a recital. Yes, the vocalist recites the lyrics as a poem, as well as sometimes singing, of course. Those who've been following Ekpyrosis since Mensch Aus Gold must have felt this "feature" was missing on the sophomore album, but this time the guttural and the clear passages are balanced.

And finally, the unusual approach to song structures deserves to be mentioned. There is no blasting, the riffs are simple yet very effective, the atmosphere isn't raw and primitive, but soothing and oscillating between uplifting and depressive. Even though you know you're listening to a black metal band, strangely you don't notice any evident influences of other bands. I guess this unique style is what makes Ekpyrosis often labeled as avant-garde, after all.

I think of Weisse Nacht as an improved version of Ein Ewiges Bild. If on the second album he wanted to make a record with smaller tracks (if comparing with the glorious debut) and still keep the awesomeness of the one-track first album, it felt that something was missing. It was a good album, but on a lower level if compared to the debut. However he succeeded on this third album. I think this, just like Mensch Aus Gold, is a masterpiece.