I think I have heard this band before… with 6 albums in their history, this one man band (with the help of some session musicians) releases their latest opus. The general ideology of this German unit is “Death to the human race” so in a way, it can also be labeled into a suicidal form of expression. Now to the music, this is a blend of depressive Doom Metal, and some Death and Black Metal touches. They use a quite good variety of vocals, even some females ones, but they do it in a smart way that they do not sound forced. The main vocals are more into the Black Metal region, with some very desperate vocalizations used in a couple of places to a good effect, like in the closing ‘Gratwanderung’. Although most is played at mid-tempo, there are a couple of fast parts. The overall sound, is reminiscent of many of the so-called suicidal Black Metal bands. There are a couple of interesting riffs here and there, some examples can be found in songs like ‘New Rage (… Of Old Hate)’. Most of the songs are quite long, around the 6 min. mark, and things are worked out to use quite a good variation in them without sounding the same, something that makes this sound a bit different than most suicidal Metal bands which uses more hypnotic repetitive riffs. My main criticism would be the production, which sounds more apt for a demo than an album, and that takes away some heaviness from the final product. A couple of well used samples and keyboards are used to spice the music into the whole atmosphere the band tries to create. According to their website, their previous albums will be soon re-released, so if you find this release interesting, it will be a good idea to keep an eye on those. The overall concept accomplishes the task of creating a mood, it sounds like a hating declaration to the human race. Although in my eyes there are bands doing similar things a bit better (MAKE A CHANGE… KILL YOURSELF for example) if you like this style of depressive Metal music, give it a chance. Just don’t use sharp objects while listening… I have warned you… www.merciless-records.de, www.traumatic-voyage.de