#antiq-records — Public Fediverse posts

Rauhnåcht – Zwischenwelten Review

By Grin Reaper

For the uninitiated, Rauhnåcht isn’t just a one-man, pagan black metal band—it’s the time between worlds as one year transitions to the next.1 This is a quiet, contemplative period drenched in folklore, when the veil between unseen, spiritual worlds and our own is thinnest, the Wild Hunt prowls the night skies, and furry, horned beasties trudge through snowcapped, picturesque villages trading offerings for luck and warding off evil. Rauhnåcht’s latest offering, Zwischenwelten, poetically translates to “the worlds between worlds,” and posits reality as a series of crossroads between antitheses, creating worlds unto themselves. Though much of reality is defined in black and white, we all exist in shades of gray. Do Zwischenwelten’s high-minded ruminations manifest in the music, or do they get lost in translation?

Rauhnåcht’s oeuvre consistently melds black metal with folk trappings. Man-behind-the-curtain Stefan Traunmüller employs a broad assortment of instruments in Zwischenwelten to charming effect, ensuring that while you’ve almost certainly heard distorted tremolos over blast beats before, there are twists here that keep the style fresh and unique. The sum total rubs elbows with Saor and Árstíðir Lífsins without imitating either. Zwischenwelten is Rauhnåcht’s fifth album overall and the first proper metal release since Grier reviewed Unterm Gipfelthron at the tail end of 2018.2 After listening to previous albums, it’s clear that Zwischenwelten is the darkest thus far. Shedding the most ebullient facets of Unterm Gipfelthron, Zwischenwelten cuts to the core and delivers an album unmistakably black metal forward. Despite that, the folk rudiments still exist; they’re just more inconspicuously assembled in this eclectic yet coherent package.

Each song on Zwischenwelten is punctuated with subtle and evocative moments. From the accordion’s airy hum in “Das Mark des Lebens” (The Marrow of Life) that conjures a fleeting, sleepy respite against freezing gusts, to the twinkle of a glockenspiel suggesting bright, piercing stars in a clear night sky (“Der Spalt zwischen den Welten” [The Gap between the Worlds]), Rauhnåcht vividly infuses traditional folk instruments into second wave fury. The vocals are a varied affair, with standard black metal screams and howls mixed with cleans that could have been pulled straight from Fear Factory’s Obsolete (“Eines Tages Seid Ihr Frei” [One Day You Will Be Free]). Throughout Zwischenwelten, choral chanting ebbs and flows (“Der Spalt zwischen den Welten,” “Das Mark des Lebens”), serving as a restrained musical theme that culminates in closer “Alleinsamkeit” (Solitude). Throughout the final track, blackened rasps trade lines with gang and choral chanting and singing, vaguely reminiscent of the interplay from “Duel of the Fates.” Through most of the song, there’s a back and forth, with tension building between half-step transitions and minor harmonies. Near the end, the two parts coalesce into a united refrain, playing in concert rather than at odds. It’s a beautiful resolution that took me several listens to pick up on, but once revealed, it was a delight to have discovered.

There’s much to unravel in the tangled knot that Rauhnåcht delivers. Zwischenwelten is protective of its secrets, but patient listeners are rewarded with a cohesive and introspective journey. Perhaps a victim of its own seamlessness, Zwischenwelten requires multiple listens to unfold, presenting a deceptively long time investment despite the reasonable forty-one-minute runtime. From the fuzzy synth pangs and flute accompaniment in “Naturgewalten” (Forces of Nature) to the black ‘n’ roll bop near the end of “Letzter Pfad” (Last Path), the variety and interweaving of disparate elements is ambitious and well-executed. Yet its understated nature makes it elusive without a focused, active listen, and could go unappreciated by more casual audiences. Another minor gripe is that occasionally the distinctive features (like the accordion in “Das Mark des Lebens”) appear in a pocket outside the black metal onslaught, but never integrate fully like the chanting in “Alleinsamkeit.” On its own, this is hardly worth a mention. Given the theme of Zwischenwelten and embracing the gray in worlds between black and white, we sometimes glimpse the extremes of sonic spectrums without a clear picture of the intersection, which feels like a missed opportunity.

Though Rauhnåcht has been absent from proper metal albums for nearly seven years, the intervening time was put to effective use. Rauhnåcht operates in a world between worlds, bound in a layered nexus of dichotomous spheres: meditative and aggressive, harsh and tender, universal and intimate. For anyone with a passing interest in black metal, and certainly anyone who enjoys folk with it, Zwischenwelten demands a listen. This is an album that requires attentiveness to appreciate it, but it is well worth the investment and a great demonstration of what a polished concept can sound like in black metal.

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s CBR MP3
Label: Antiq
Websites: Zwischenwelten Bandcamp | Rauhnåcht Bandcamp3 | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: August 25th, 2025

#2025 #35 #AntiqRecords #ArstidirLifsins #AtmosphericBlackMetal #Aug25 #AustrianMetal #BlackMetal #FolkBlackMetal #Rauhnåcht #Review #Saor #Sturmpercht #UntermGipfelthron #Zwischenwelten

Eminentia Tenebris – Whispers of the Undying Review

By Twelve

I love black metal. But there are some black metal tropes that just don’t do it for me. I also love power metal. But there are some power metal tropes that just don’t do it for me. And it’s because of this that melodic black metal is, in my mind, a fantastic genre of music. It takes everything that’s great about black metal, most of the things that are great about power metal, and runs with them. So it’s with mild surprise that I found Eminentia Tenebris, a melodic/atmospheric black metal duo from France, are already on their fourth full-length for the style (since only 2020, no less), and I’ve been missing out! Lured in by the promise of heroic, exciting black metal, I’ve been listening to Whispers of the Undying, said fourth full-length, for a couple of weeks now. I came in with (perhaps unfairly) high expectations—how did it hold up?

Straightaway, Eminentia Tenebris demonstrate the confidence of veteran musicians in their approach to their music. Clocking it at a mere 35 minutes, Whispers of the Undying is filled to the absolute brim with heroic, galloping black metal—as advertised! Opener “Forever Etched” is where most bands would put an epic, synth/orchestral opener to set up the mood for the next 34 minutes. Eminetia Tenebris have no time for all that. They spent the full minute and a half of the song blast beating, tremolo riffing, and screaming as if from the mountaintop. It’s grand, sweeping, and exactly what you can expect through the rest of Whispers of the Undying. Erroiak’s vocals are dominant; he roars atop blistering black metal assaults as if he’s been here since the beginning1. Cyo, the project founder, contributes drums, guitars, and synths, which are generally understated, but do a lot to add to the epic feel of the music… and make no mistake, there is epic-feeling music about here.

This might be a good spot to dissect the makeup of certain songs, but the truth is that Eminentia Tenebris are fairly consistent throughout Whispers of the Undying. Songs are driven primarily by adventurous tremolo leads and propped up by synthesized strings and horns in places where an epic swell would feel right. “Echoes of Triumph” is fun but slightly restrained, a palate cleanser ahead of chaotic forays like “Marching as One.” “Embers of Glory” switches things up by using clean chants in place of synths, while “Beneath the Moon” is bookended with acoustic guitars that serve as a welcome break between songs that are of similar lengths and styles. Cryo’s musical talent is impressive, and Erroiak’s vocals are a very strong pairing; every song has a distinct lead and vocal approach that makes the 35-minute album feel just slightly longer, a sign of good music through and through.

I’m also impressed with the production on Whispers of the Undying—and surprised, as my samples from Eminentia Tenebris’s previous releases left me worried on this front. The heavy, fuzzy, in-your-face stylings of Rise of a New Kingdom are gone; instead, Whispers of the Undying has a great deal of breathing room baked in. This feels very important for a couple of reasons: firstly, that it is far easier to feel excited and adventurous in a balanced mix, and secondly, that a lot of the songs on Whispers of the Undying work across similar lengths, paces, and themes. The mid-album duo of “Beneath the Moon” and “Through Chaos and Shadow” end up feeling a touch forgettable as a result—I can’t recall either as I’m typing—but while listening, I’m never bored, drifting off, or losing focus, and that is thanks in part to the fact that they sound good, that their adventurous spirit shines through the master and lands effectively for the listener.

Whispers of the Undying is fun. It does, seemingly, exactly what it sets out to do in building an exciting, uplifting sound rooted in aggressive, powerful black metal. While I may wish for a touch more variety in the material, there isn’t a bad song in the bunch, and never a dull moment, which alone is enough for me to recommend the experience. If, like me, you enjoy black metal that’s more on the fun side than the angry one, Eminentia Tenebris is well worth looking into.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Antiq Records
Websites: eminentiatenebris.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/EminentiaTenebris
Releases Worldwide: July 4th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AntiqRecords #EminentiaTenebris #FrenchMetal #Jul25 #MelodicBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #WhispersOfTheUndying