In 2005 Germany’s GEIST already managed to impress quite a few people with their debut full length "Patina". Instead of playing the typical raw northern Black Metal, these guys successfully mixed the grimness of this genre with lots of ambient and accoustical elements. A highly interesting cocktail, that seemed to work out very well for them, so that they (of course) continued on with it on their new album "Kainsmal", which is their first release via Cold Dimensions. The record comprises of six rather lengthy songs, all of them once again obviously written with an overall very emotional input, which means the combination of furious Black Metal outbursts and melancholic interludes just seem to click perfectly. Intense fast parts go hand in hand with slower melodic pieces, while pure aggression is accompanied by almost poetically performed lyrics (all of them in German by the way). The album as a whole pretty much benefits from that as it never starts to bore the listener and furthermore offers a crystal clear, yet very powerful and raw production. Good one! For more info head to www.the-geist-reich.de or www.cold-dimensions.de.