A few years ago, Austrian actor Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Carnage) visited an American late night show (check YouTube, if you feel like it) and quizzed his host on the meaning of some tricky German words. Some were silly, some were beautiful, but all of them were compound nouns. The host failed miserably in guessing their meaning, having absolutely no clue. The audience laughed at the sound and the length of the words. Among the more interesting ones was “Waldeinsamkeit” which describes the special kind of solitude you feel when you find yourself alone in a forest. When I read the title of Ellende’s new album, I had to think of Christoph Waltz and his quiz. I’m pretty sure that, had he thought of it, “Ellenbogengesellschaft” would have been the star word of his quiz.
While “Waldeinsamkeit” would make for a very good album title for a German atmospheric black metal band – it references key components of what the genre is about, namely nature and solitude, and solitude in nature – it would also be a very obvious and predictable title. Ellende, an atmospheric black metal/post black metal band from Graz, Austria, around for ten years already, have decided to be less predictable in naming their new album. “Ellenbogengesellschaft” references a society (Gesellschaft) where everyone uses their elbows (Ellenbogen) to get ahead, to move forward and upward, not caring about hurting fellow human beings in the process. It is the German term for a dog-eat-dog world, a figurative expression to describe our capitalistic reality.
Language is a key factor in identity and since their beginnings Ellende have striven to connect their music to their origins. Apart from the album and song titles, most of the lyrics are in German, with a little bit of English here and there. Locale, tradition and history play a role as well which can be seen on the cover designs of all releases. If you want to get an idea about music, mood and atmosphere, a good start would be to watch the video to the new track Abschied (farewell). Here, an idyllic but also dangerous mountain landscape plays the background to a story about the simple joys of life, the inevitable problems that await all of us and about life’s inescapable end.
The prevailing sentiments on the album are melancholy, desperation and rage. Acoustic parts, played out on guitar and piano, provide respite from the anger and frustration that tremolo picked electric guitars and fast drumming convey, resulting in an altogether very listenable variant of black metal. The vocal performance is ghoulish and throaty throughout the album which prevents the music from sliding too far into non-black terrain.
Impressively, Ellende is the brainchild of only one person, L.G., who does everything by himself, from song-writing to lyrics to vocals, guitars, piano, synth, samples and drums. He does have some help, however, especially when performing live, and on this record, for example, the drums were recorded by band member P.F. Also, a well-known figure in the Austrian black metal and post black metal scene is a guest vocalist on the record – J.J. of Harakiri for the Sky and of Karg. It is the track that features his contribution, Ruhelos (restless), that appeals to me the most. Instead of throaty and ghoulish, his vocals are screamed, which changes the vibe from post black to emo and I must say that I quite like that since it provides a little bit of variation.
Well-written, well-executed, locale-centred atmospheric black metal and post black metal which will appeal to fans of the genre who don’t mind consulting a dictionary here and there to unpack all nuances of meaning.
(7.5/10 Slavica)
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