Band:	Tauthr
Album:	Life-Losing
Style:	Black metal, Death metal
Release date:	August 2010

01. Curse Or Destiny
02. Dis-loved
03. Perfect
04. Memories
05. Hope
06. Crown
07. Life-Losing
08. Leave
09. Orpheus

Tauthr is a German band, that released 2 demos in the mid-nineties before splitting up, giving birth to Endstille in the process. And now, they are back - as the band was raised from the dead in 2006 - and released this year their first album ever.

Welcome, then, to a world of old-school, crushing, mid-tempo black metal, with a good chunk of death thrown in for good measure.
Black/death, you say? Well, expect no Dissection? While I'm pretty sure there are more relevant comparisons, this Life-Losing reminds me a bit of Katatonia's Brave Murder Day, only faster (and not really doom). That's all those droning, repetitive riffs, and bleak atmosphere, for sure. As you can guess, don't even try to find some uplifting music in here, especially seeing the title.
Granted, the very nature of the guitar play, and the fact that most of the songs are simply mid-tempo, with almost no speed changes whatsoever, can be a problem. Most of them do sound a bit the same, and can induce drowsiness and/or lack of interest. Thankfully, there is a certain groove that makes this album not totally boring. In fact, the riffs quite envelop you, and drag you in their world - one strangely comfortable given the nature of the music. Plus, there is also some relentless and fast death metal pounding ("Perfect", "Crown"), just to spice up things a bit.
Given the nature of this endeavor, you'd expect some raw production, right? And gues what, it is. It's gritty, but also powerful; something really fitting for sure.

So, let's see... Retro trip? Check. Good music? Check. Originality? Not the goal!
And well, your appreciation of this album will depend on if you like your extreme metal old-school or not, I guess. A bit too repetitive for its own good, with great moments nonetheless, this is anyway a nice, enjoyable release. But, it would be no wonder if only the old-school fans really dig this Life-Losing.