An album centered around the Thirty Years War in what is now the western part of Germany, that could be quite interesting. German black metallers Der Rote Milan clearly have ambitions with such a concept on their second album “Moritat”, which is admirable and adds some historical relevance.
Unfortunately, the lyrical ambitions are not supported by great music. Der Rote Milan offers a rather mediocre form of black metal, devoid of any musical highlights or interesting passages. There is a severe lack of dynamics on “Moritat”, which pummels along mostly on the same pace. The vocals are nothing special, just a standard scream that’s neither ferocious nor malicious enough to make an impact. The musicianship is below par and so is the sound quality, making the music fuzzy and indistinct.
The good thing about “Moritat” is that the music drifts by without causing irritation, but that’s about as positive as it gets. Der Rote Milan will have a lot of work to do in order to reach an acceptable level and create something interesting in the future. I wish them good luck and plenty of inspiration.
(5/10 Lykle Thijssen)
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