The German IRRLYCHT are either slow song writers or perfectionists. Ten years of silence passed after their first album “Schatten Des Gewitters” from 2011. And now we have two new releases from this band within a year. Asides from a split EP with MALCUIDANT, IRRLYCHT also have a new full length album out. “Wolfish Grandeur” is more than an hour of German Black Metal that mainly digs in the crypts of the old school of the genre. We have ice cold guitar riffing, blurring lead guitars and diversified drumming from grooving mid tempo to up speed chaos. And all this is outshined by the very variable vocal delivery of Isegrimm, who seems to handle all styles of Black Metal singing easily, from depressive to aggressive shrieking, including clean singing. Yet what sounds fine at first sight turns out to be mediocre in the long run, as the riffs are not really enthralling and often sound pretty exchangeable. Yet the drumming is absolutely excellent and keeps up a certain tension over the long songs. Talking about the length of the songs – less could have been more here. Especially ‘Drohende Schatten’ (more than ten minutes) and the final ‘Leuchten Der Roten Stille / Epitaph’ with its seventeen and a half minutes running time seem to me like they are chewy like old bubble gum. Thus it’s the shortest song that is sticking out here. ‘Gaias Niedergang’ really convinces me to the fullest and shows what IRRLYCHT are really able to create. But most of the time, “Wolfish Grandeur” sounds overambitious, and I can’t help the impression that IRRLYCHT had too much time to work on this album. For more information visit www.facebook.com/irrlychtofficial or www.facebook.com/folterrecordsgermany