Graupel - Auf alten Wegen

Genre(s) - Black metal
Origin - Nordrhein-Westphalen, Germany
Year of release - 2005
Bitrate - 256-320 kbps
Size - 64.85 MB

Among the bands to spring into the gap that Nagelfar left behind after disintegration were Graupel, a three-piece of mostly (ex-)members of the aformentioned unit that was around since a long time before they released their first demo. You can expect some really extreme stuff on here; an unscaleable wall of raw guitar noise melting together with the drums that are, of course, rumbling along at a merciless pace. Still, the noise keeps just enough distance from the listener that he or she can gradually learn to discern the riffs and details. There is one song that more than the others deserves your attention, and that's the long Requies Filii. It is the most varied song and the melodies come to the fore a little bit more boldly. Indeed it has a much greater emotional pay-off than the other tracks, and that is no coincidence as the song was written about and dedicated to singer Zingultus' son, who passed away at a very young age. It's a very striking and remarkably honest detail on an album you would not expect such a thing, and I can bring up a lot of respect and sympathy for this gesture. Not that more people should suffer the loss of a child, but it kind of makes me wish black metal lyrics were not generally so impersonal.

1. Heimkehr
2. Saat zieht Zeit
3. Die Notglocke
4. Der alte Weg
5. Requies Filii
6. Soll und sein
7. Von der Gunst de Schelte
8. Glück der Söhne
9. Ein Sterbelied auf Metall
10. Blutend Weiß

Load it down