German atmospheric black metallers Waldgeflüster have decided to release an EP that contains one new song, two covers and a re-recorded song from their early discography. I absolutely loved this bands last album ‘Dahoam’ released in 2021 which I reviewed for Ave Noctum, so much so I bought the vinyl after listening to it once. Since then that album has not faded from my listening pile as now we get a handful of songs to sate any hunger fans have for new product from the band.

The title track is the new song and closely follows what the band gave us on the last album, atmospheric melodies bound to twisted vocals and a drifting melancholy. The introduction of a blasted segment gives the track aggression without loss in momentous atmosphere as it’s tunefulness has similarities to many other acts in this field such as Imperium Dekadenz and Anomalie to name a couple of notable bands for comparison. I love the way the band infuses everything with an immeasurable amount of class as the song drives you through a journey of mournful riffing alongside its virtual barraging drum work.

The first of two covers appears next, as the band render their version of Panopticon’s ‘The Pit’ which Panopticon released on their 2020 split with Aerial Ruin. Waldgeflüster has created a music video for the song which really models the charisma of the song as their version is starkly different to the acoustic folk style of the original, being fully formulated into an atmospheric black metal style but using the clean almost gothic vocal style. It has been cleverly done, you can hear the underlying tone and melody of how the original was recorded as Waldgeflüster render their own unique version with captivating results and I’m sure Panopticon will whole heartedly approve of what the band has done with this superb song.

‘Herbst Befiel Das Land MMXXIII’ is the re-recorded song as you can see by the title which was originally released in 2009 on the ‘Herbstklagen’ album. Comparing the two shows the bands has reworked the vocal line to be more prominent and the atmospheric black metal is richer, more opulent than the original, though whether you’d prefer the newer version over the original is purely down to taste as both are exceptional in their own right. I did like how the newer version had a more gothic toning in parts and when counterbalanced against the caustic black metal of the song the new version is potentially very much like how the song sounds live if they do indeed play the song live.

Closing the release is another cover song, this time a song called ‘Black Flies’ by an artist I am not familiar with called Ben Howard who is a folk singer and song writer from the UK. Howard’s version of the song is acoustic based and like the Panopticon song Waldgeflüster have cleverly reformulated the song into an atmospheric black metal piece. The original by Ben Howard is haunting and melancholic and the band has successfully translated that into their version with dense and oft oppressive riffing and a slow doom like pacing utilising the normal harsh vocal tone but also cleaner toning that gives the song a luxuriant and more enduring foundation. I would really like to hear what fans of Ben Howard think of how the band has changed the song because clearly Waldgeflüster can present any song in their own way no matter what the original is like.

A fine EP of songs for fans of Waldgeflüster, one filled with curiosity and intrigue that I for one thoroughly enjoyed listening to.

(8.5/10 Martin Harris)

https://www.facebook.com/BlackMetalWaldgefluester

https://artofpropaganda.bandcamp.com/album/unter-bronzenen-kronen