“Hear the words I sing, war’s a horrid thing”… as someone once said. And that pretty much sums up Panzerfaust’s take on the relentless plague of war – not just in battle, but the endless centuries of conflict endured by human, body and soul. Panzerfaust is obviously a reference to the German army’s metre-long anti-tank weapon first used in 1943. But, I should add, the band’s war theme is not in the frenzied blood-and-iron manner of many black metal bands, but more the tenor of the First World War poets and the fallibility of man – and those who hold human history in their hands – than it is of the soil and gin-soaked genocidal vision of Marduk. I mean. These guys are Canadians, right? The band’s evolution from 2008’s The Dark Age of Militant Paganism (still a decent slug of black metal, I might add) has been remarkable and the point at which you probably want to join the ride, if you haven’t done so already, is Jehovah-Jireh: The Divine Anti-Logos which pretty much defines the band’s style since 2013 when it was released as well as The Lucifer Principle EP that followed. Since then the band has delved ever deeper into its philosophical analysis of nihilism and the human condition, the existence of god, his followers’ baleful scriptures and the general suffering that many born on earth for many millennia have had to endure.

And so it was that Panzerfaust hit a different stride altogether with The Suns of Perdition – Chapter I: War, Horrid War, which I reviewed on this very website last year. The music as much as any other I’ve heard, seemed to define the horrors of war – the slow grind of endless years of conflict, the scorched, abrasive distortion, and the whining of guitars like the blaze of missiles and high calibre ammunition coursing across the battlefield – more reminiscent of Bolt Thrower than traditional ‘war’ metal. The final track, The Men of No Man’s Land, was dedicated to Lt. Col. John McCrae – Canadian author of WW1 memorial poem In Flanders Fields (undoubtedly one of the reasons the image of the poppy has endured for more than a century). Unsurprisingly, Chapter II: Render unto Eden picks up where ‘…Horrid War’ left off. The sound remains a highly palatable mash up of bands like Blaze of Perdition, Deathspell Omega and Funeral Mist but again – at least at first – preferring a slow, cataclysmic grind interspersed with mid-paced blast beats and the occasional pentatonic tremolo that gives the band a signature of its own.

As harsh and unforgiving as the ground-glass sound sounds, it is punctuated with intelligent lyrics which again invoke the philosophies and writings of Nietzsche, Goethe, Schopenhauer and George Orwell – perhaps this time provoking an even more reflective experience than the last outing and one which seems to delve even more deeply into the human condition rather than just the consequences of it. The relentless ferocity is broken by searing soundscapes, choirs, audio clips and glimmers of sombre light, exemplified by the guest vocals of Arkona’s Maria Arkhipova on the opening track. But the band proves itself equally capable of turning the savagery up to a more classic black metal pace at various points which helps build up not only the band’s blackened credentials, but the fluctuating nature of the sound which is at times as unpredictable as it is mechanical and repetitive.

Render Unto Eden squeezes the pressure to uncomfortable levels. Longer than its predecessor, it feels like the band has given itself more room to play to its strengths – winding your psyche on the aural wrack as medieval torturers might have strung out your ancestors for poaching food from the landlord’s estate. It’s difficult to say this adds any significant new dimension to the sound since Chapter One but, then again, this is a four part tetralogy so perhaps that’s not a surprise and it has to be said, looking back, Horrid War (and remember it was only 31 minutes long) was such a fantastic platform for this fast evolving talent that you could argue a bit more of the same was much needed to see just how far the band could take things. What’s more, as with many black metal bands, this is about more than the music. The developing concept – which let’s be honest, would be a bit pointless unless backed up by a monumental sound like this – is nonetheless a significant part of this journey. Looking back I’m not sure why I only gave Horrid War an 8 score (we can’t give everything 9s and 10s though!). Because this is undoubtedly an album that sticks in my mind and which I’ve returned to on numerous occasions as one of the more memorable and well-rounded black metal efforts of recent years.

In short, I can highly recommend this band, especially for those that feel black metal should have more than one dimension other than the lazy, adolescent pursuit of black metal as a way to channel ‘hate’ (all too often a dog whistle for ‘racism’). Need I say more? Panzerfaust – Part Two: Highly Recommended. Looking forward to the next two parts.

(8.5/10 Reverend Darkstanley)

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https://panzerfaust.bandcamp.com/album/the-suns-of-perdition-chapter-ii-render-unto-eden