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The name sounded familiar and rightly so since I covered their previous release. Reading back the review, I figured I should also take a look at this new album. Maybe I should have passed... Not that Rauhnacht is terrible, just that this CD does not cut it.

This is a bit strange to say about a metal disc, but you’ll need to increase the volume to hear it properly. The sound production is a bit raw, a thing commonly seen in Black Metal. This is fine with me, except when the drum sounds like it was made of cardboard. The bulk of this music is basically fast-paced compositions with distorted guitars, lots of tremolo picking and good raspy vocals. Pretty generic as such, and nothing in there makes you wanna beg for more. Then, at least this saves the listening experience, some variation and harmonies are included. The tempo dropping down, allowing the guitar work to become crunchier, something pretty irresistible in Black Metal. The harmonies are then further enhanced by subtle guitar playing in the shape of clean arpeggios and acoustic parts. To complete the melodic décor, Thorngoth threw in a few epic leads here and there.

Rauhnacht is a pretty average album, with some nicely melodic moments. Songs worth mentioning: "Der Wanderer"( good riffs and epic leads), "Nihilistic Visions" (acoustic guitars), " Abgrund" and "Still, Von Ewigkeit" (both having crushing guitars and moderate paces).