MDD/Sound Pollution
They may sound like a mix of bards and gods; Anomietes, vocals, Boppel and Sapp, guitars, Horus, bass, and Keltor, drums, but there is surely some point to it. SHATTENREICH is advertised as borderless and superior. The music is according to the info sheet highly recommended for fans of DARKTHRONE, CELTIC FROST and early SODOM to name but a few. No small quest they set out for, they sure need to be gods of sorts.
The opener “Intro” is not as short as the title suggests. Though the vocals are sparse there is almost a full song on offer, way better than a meaningless short intro. The more they mix in, the more entertaining they are. The basic foundation must be black metal, but there is also a lot of melody hidden among the speedy guitars and the hammering drums. The drums are not the best part, but that is probably a calculated move. Keltor shows better sides of himself occasionally. I end up with quite a few “ok”, about as many “+” and the title track. SHATTENREICH have a lot of ideas, but they are limited by the black metal they stubbornly stick with. The title track is a fancy exception, like ZAKK WYLDE goes doom with an accordion. It has a folky feel and many levels, as well as a clean vocals choir and some thrash thrown in. It may sound like crap confusion but it works well and provides SHATTENRECH a nice future outlook. But that is not what they seem hellbent on. Instead they hide a lot of fine guitar work, e.g. the THIN LIZZY-influenced guitar work in “In den Tod”. They show an arty mindset in the “Outro”, a modern heavy take on PINK FLOYD perhaps? The power is there, and probably the ability to make an impact…if they use it!
Track List
Intro
Die Feuer Brennen Hell
Mahmal
Peststurm
Hochzeit
Das Licht
In den Tod
Heimatlos
Kreuzritter
Unser Weg
Schattenreich
Outro
www.mdd-shop.de www.myspace.com/schattenreichbm
