Review by Nathan on February 28, 2024.

While I don't think anyone is considering the German scene to be their personal favorite, it's easily the most consistent scene out there, which is no small feat consider it's a markedly bigger country than, say, Poland. There's a lot more opportunity for generic bands to suck. However, I find it almost works out in the complete opposite way, because generic metal in Germany has assembly line levels of efficiency. I dunno if it's just because Rammstein is considered radio rock there, but there's a level of professionalism and dedication that you see in a band like Dauþuz that just isn't there in other local scenes. I dunno if it's just that the German miner lyrical theme adds a degree of "serious business" to the mix, but if this is bargain bin black metal in Germany, fuck, I should move to Germany.

Here's a little rundown if you're unfamiliar with this band (as I was prior to checking out this album). This is black metal that sometimes takes influence from more niche genres (the screams suggest a DSBM influence, while the prominent sense of melody can give off Pagan/folk vibes), but is otherwise straightforward. The drums have a simplistic, almost punk rock feel to them, which is already common in black metal – it's very reminiscent of a more European, slightly expanded version of El-Ahrairah's eponymous album when the drums fall back into a standard rock beat. The vocals are mostly a hollow, screechy howl, with some clean backups and double-ups sprinkled in there on occasion. It's not quite friendly enough to be classified as folk/black or melodic black, but it comes close. A slightly less upbeat Sargeist is a somewhat accurate comparison if you take the regional differences into account.

The building blocks Dauþuz uses are as generic as they come, as you can see, but they songs are arranged in a way that makes them memorable. This is a perfect example of a band not needing to reinvent the wheel because they've already got their formula down. The only thing that you can really do to improve is build on the chemistry you have, and Dauþuz recognizes this with Monvmentvm. They're sticking with the same themes and trimming the fat, and also try to create unique arrangements within the template they already have. 'Der Bergschmied' has a super cool harsh-vocal-over-clean-guitar part at the end that a lot of bands try but few can make work effectively. Because they've been hammering away at the style for a few albums now, Dauþuz knows what kinds of risks they can take within the songs, and they've also done a really good job of eliminating unnecessary filler riffs on Monvmentvm. Even the longer 8-9 minute songs don't drag. No sections ever sound like they're ill-fitting and they never repeat riffs for too long, which is significant in a genre that is supposed to be raw and minimalistic. Even the acoustic guitar passages, which usually function as little more than hokey interludes, do a lot to solidify the atmosphere and pace of this album. Nothing about Monvmentvm is different from the tens of thousands of other black metal albums out there, Dauþuz just takes a bit more time and care when they're composing, and the small investment pays big dividends. Although this is a 2019 release, the tight compositions and confident execution present makes it sound like these songs have been written for years.

Even as a black metal fan, it's possible Dauþuz flew under your radar. Naturmacht Productions has a somewhat insular family of bands, all content to dwell within their little German atmo-black circle. I can't say that Dauþuz stands out at all from that already-niche crowd, but that could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing, because nothing stands out in a sore thumb-type way, either. This is just a very sleek, meat-and-potatoes kind of black metal album that chugs along like a carefully crafted and well-oiled machine. It's simple and melodic enough that the riffs will stick with you, and if you don't need a lot of extra garnishes in your black metal to be satisfied this will be right up your alley. At first, I was confused as to why a folk-tinged black metal album would choose German miners as a concept to base a band around, but it makes a lot more sense when you see the words I'm using to describe Dauþuz - they're steady, efficient, and more about substance over style. Not unlike a German laborer slowly plugging away in a mineshaft, a tinge of hope gleaming in his eyes as he searches for a rare gold nugget.

Rating: 8.3 out of 10