Dornenreich - In Luft geritzt
Prophecy Productions - Pro 097 - 9 May 2008
By George Grant
Metal bands and acoustic albums have a hit or miss relationship. Obviously the classic
Ulver album
Kveldssanger stands as an example of the artist able to apply their music in a different realm successfully. However, just as often bands usually miss the mark completely and lose the magic inherent in the metal albums. The most recent example that pops into mind would be the
Drudkh’s
Songs of Grief and Solitude. Austria’s
Dornenreich is another band that seems to have missed the mark on their latest release
In Luft geritzt. The album translates to “carved in air” and the band states that their intentions with this release were to express the pure musical soul of
Dornenreich. As romantic and noble as that sounds the album misses the mark and hardly makes a lasting impression on the listener.
The instrumentation on this release is comprised of solely acoustic guitar, violin and various percussion instruments for accents. The problem doesn’t lie in the lack of instruments but rather in the compositions of the songs.
In Luft geritzt is a repetitious album, and not in the good
Burzum way. Constantly throughout the album you’ll find whole passages of songs repeated again and with seemingly no reason other then to fill time. There’s no variation to the parts and no depth is added through this writing. This makes it a very frustrating listen. The atmosphere built in the music is one that offers endless opportunities for exploration, but it seems that
Dornenreich sticks to one path throughout.
Despite the standard writing, there is no denying the power of the violin on this recording. The instrument has a very rich tone that is captivating. A prime example of this can be heard on the track
'Flugel in Fels.' However, it seems as though the guitar is holding back the duo from breaking out and adding that extra spice to the music to make it worth while. The vocals are also another aspect of the music that could use some work, as they are mostly whispered words. There are moments where harsher vocals are heard and they actually do work well with the music and convey an interesting emotion to the songs, as evident in
‘Jagd.’
The foundation was there for
Dornenreich to produce an interesting release had they taken the time to explore the music a bit more. As it stands
In Luft geritzt is a fairly standard album, and another example of metal bands not quite reaching the mark with an acoustic release.
Official Dornenreich Website
Official Dornenreich Myspace Page
Official Prophecy Productions Website
