Enid
Nachtgedanken
[Elven Witchcraft]
Enid is a one-man band from Germany, whose demo already made shivers run down my
orcish spine. I have never appreciated "melodic black metal". I have never
appreciated self-pity and tear-jerking. Yet I have to admit… this melodic,
gothic, soft, weepy, romantic work could be my favorite album of last year.
The purity of angst and emotion in this work could sound outright ridiculous, if
it was less well executed. But now this is tearing down my soul. For those
familiar with the works of SUMMONING, especially their album "Minas Morgul",
will recognize ENID as being very similar in style. A throbbing, simple
kick-bounce drum-machine beat with occasional speedy double-bass and blast
beats, throat-ripped wraithlike vocals, epic guitar riffs composed of single
notes held for long passages of time in a fuzzy tremolo, accompanied by a
keyboard that crafts the ideal of a "medieval" Tolkien-ish fantasy atmosphere by
the effective combination of classical and folk influences, subtle polyphony
alongside straightforward sing-along tunes.
The structure of songs in "Nachtgedanken" sounds annoyingly patterned, when the listener pays attention to it, and the idea crossed my mind that this could have been created with a tracker program. Even if this is merely aesthetical, it is worth noting that very few of the songs differ from each other in form. A song starts with a synth melody, guitars crash in playing the same melody, then an interlude with a different melody… this pattern also holds with most SUMMONING tracks. The effectiveness relies simply on the correspondence between the melody and the vocals to create a dialog between light and darkness, life and death, beauty and sorrow.
And it works. What more can I say? Martin is an able singer not only with the black vocals (just listen to this or Bethlehem and you understand why the obligatory BM language should be German), but also clean ones that remind of gregorian chant, in a positively spiritual context however. From the first real track, "Institutio Immortales", the listener is caught by the emotional subconscious powers of these compositions into a web of timeless energy and freedom… a touch from the ancient times, a kiss of immortality and pure spirit.
contact : Elven Witchcraft website
© 1999 black hate
The structure of songs in "Nachtgedanken" sounds annoyingly patterned, when the listener pays attention to it, and the idea crossed my mind that this could have been created with a tracker program. Even if this is merely aesthetical, it is worth noting that very few of the songs differ from each other in form. A song starts with a synth melody, guitars crash in playing the same melody, then an interlude with a different melody… this pattern also holds with most SUMMONING tracks. The effectiveness relies simply on the correspondence between the melody and the vocals to create a dialog between light and darkness, life and death, beauty and sorrow.
And it works. What more can I say? Martin is an able singer not only with the black vocals (just listen to this or Bethlehem and you understand why the obligatory BM language should be German), but also clean ones that remind of gregorian chant, in a positively spiritual context however. From the first real track, "Institutio Immortales", the listener is caught by the emotional subconscious powers of these compositions into a web of timeless energy and freedom… a touch from the ancient times, a kiss of immortality and pure spirit.
contact : Elven Witchcraft website
© 1999 black hate