{"id":124098,"date":"2024-09-26T11:00:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T16:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/?p=124098"},"modified":"2024-09-26T11:32:48","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T16:32:48","slug":"review-kanonenfieber-die-urkatastrophe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/review-kanonenfieber-die-urkatastrophe\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: KANONENFIEBER – DIE URKATASTROPHE"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cOK, now this grinder of yours\u2026 Is it a real grinder or is it just some kinda metaphor?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I was pretty shocked to realize that it\u2019s already been 3 1\/2 years since Menschenm\u00fchle<\/em> released. I feel like I still consistently hear people talking about the debut record and the praise it received upon release. Maybe that gap hasn\u2019t felt so long because of the number of EPs that Noise \u2014 Kanonenfieber<\/strong>\u2019s <\/span>sole member<\/span>\u2014 has put out under the project\u2019s name in the years since its release. Yankee Division<\/em>, Der F\u00fcsilier<\/em>, and U-Bootsmann<\/em> have not just kept fans satiated, but have built up quite a lot of excitement for the release of Die Urkatastrophe<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Undoubtedly one of the things that makes Kanonenfieber what it is is Noise\u2019s vocal performance. The lead throughout the album is constantly passed between the vocals and the guitars, creating the melodic approach to black metal that Kanonenfieber is so well-known for. Combine these catchy melodies with Noise\u2019s dynamic lyricism and you\u2019ve got yourself a recipe for an album that I\u2019m sure will be fun to sing along to live (“Menschenm\u00fchle” and “Der Maulwurf” especially come to mind).<\/span><\/p>\n

On the subject of lyrics, I cannot recommend strongly enough that you translate them and read them yourself. To quote the promo material for this record:<\/span><\/p>\n

Die Urkatastrophe<\/span> is based on factual reports, letters and original documents from the surviving and deceased soldiers from the First World War. Its intent is not to glorify, because there is no glory in war. Everyone loses\u2014their lives, their souls, their humanity. War is often depicted in an abstract way, through numbers and statistics. <\/span>Kanonenfieber<\/span> aim to tell the stories of the nameless and the faceless in order to allow for a small glimpse of their personal horrors, and thereby the larger scale horror for mankind as a whole.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The lyrics, in combination with the various samples, make for a pretty atmospheric album that greatly succeeds in conveying the exact horrors that Noise sets out to depict.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Kanonenfieber<\/p>\n

While the atmospheric elements of the record are embedded well into the mix, I don\u2019t love the production on this record. Kanonenfieber feels as massive on this record as it always has, but the production feels too clean, too sterile. There are bursts of intensity and of volume, but it feels like it consistently lacks the punch and the grittiness that is so typical of blackened death metal. There are also a non-zero number of tracks off this record that just feel like \u201cmore of the same.\u201d They feel forgettable and don\u2019t really have any fluctuation in dynamics or in the overall energy of the song. Even after as much time as I\u2019ve spent with this record, there are 4 or 5 tracks where I struggle to remember a single riff or passage without listening to it again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is Die Urkatastrophe<\/em> a bad album? Certainly not! There are plenty of tracks on this record that helped win me over. “<\/span>Menschenm\u00fchle,” “Der Maulwurf,” and “Waffenbr\u00fcder” feel like the titans of the release, and “Ausblutungsschlacht”\u2014the second to last track on the album\u2014hits just as hard as you\u2019d want it to. Coupled with the transition into the melancholy acoustic closer “Als die Waffen kamen,” it feels like a great bookend to the album.<\/span><\/p>\n