Let me introduce you to Thyrgrim: they are a band from Germany, composed by four musicians – two guitarrists, a bassist, a drummer and a vocalist that, according with Encyclopedia Metallum, also plays the guitar. They formed in late 2004 and stated something in their Facebook profile that I also felt when I was writing this review: «we don't reinvent Black Metal/ we give it the right face! Instead of mindless musical/experimentation, we use well/proven styles to create/new art with old traditions. » Their latest full-length is Dekaden and was released in 2015.
I don’t know if this happened because I’m listening to a lot of different artists in a very short amount of time but Dekaden sounded like something very familiar, but I couldn’t relate it with something concrete, except for a very close approach to second wave black metal kind of sound and raw melodies. Like in a very early Emperor or Enslaved style, these Germans somehow managed to create the same grim allure that usually appeals so much in this genre.
I can’t tell much about the power to stand the test of time with this album but, what is the test of time if not another vague construct? This band, which was very much unknown to me, presents a very consistent load of full-length releases since 2006. They know how to create amazing songs, the ones that make you wish to know what comes next. Kampfar also came to my mind, still in the early stages of Dekaden. The riffing style is monstrous and sometimes folkish. Thyrgrim, while walking in the shadows, manage to be a hidden pleasure for my ears.
In this album, the folk and mid-paced moments are in fact “proven styles”, but really well made musically and at the same time, displaying a melancholic feeling. At the band’s Facebook, one can see that Thyrgrim is an entity that finds refuge in nature, in the power of the ancients, in the power of the self. Recommended for fans of black metal with folk elements and intense melodies without being melodramatic.
Notes:
CD released in October 2015 by Talheim Records
Tracklist:
1 Dette er tysk svart metal
2 Die Hölle ist hier
3 Die seuche Mensch
4 Zeichen deiner Schwäche
5 Hass
6 Interlude
7 Der Weg
8 Gezeiten
9 Sterbend II
10 Wenn es schneit
Personnel:
Kain - Vocals
Berath - Bass
Freytod - Guitars
Irrsinn - Guitars
Text by Vetrarnótt
