Review by Felix on June 27, 2024.

The concept of Eisenkult was obviously completely defined right from the start. With that said, it does not surprise that they celebrate their mental abnormality on “...gedenken wir der Finsternis”. They enjoy the sweet taste of cadaver and sing about Christian symbols which are covered with excrements and blood. Okay, we all do what we think we have to do. But maybe it would have been a good idea as well to concentrate more on the music. The measly playtime of less than 28 minutes is one thing, but the fact that there are three non-metallic, relatively boring keyboards / piano pieces worsens the situation almost dramatically. After all, one can listen to less than 20 minutes of metal and this duration does not meet my understanding of a full-length.

The music is less artful than on their later works, but the album sets the course for the general direction of the following releases. Eisenkult transport their sick and vulgar emotions with fairly simple black metal which does not differ a lot from the approach of bands like Atronos or Mavorim. Naturally that’s no wonder, because these bands (including Eisenkult) form a bubble where everyone plays in every band. Okay, you can blame me for making this factually not completely correct, blanket statement, but it is also not totally wrong, quite the opposite. Either way, “Stahlross”, the first metal piece with a length of only two minutes, is hateful, strict and, sorry, pretty meaningless. Its one-dimensional approach and the lack of variation make it to the ugly, stupid brother of Marduk’s equally designed “Werewolf” (but this track kills).

The further songs show a more interesting design due to cleverly integrated breaks and tempo changes. Okay, the mix of the album is pretty flat and dull. From this follows that the guitars are damned to create a partly monotonous noise. Nevertheless, the inner strength of songs like “Decrepatio” or “Ein endloses Nichts” shimmers through the imperfect sound. “Auf schwarzen Schwingen” stands out because of the best and sharpest guitar performance on this album, while the acceptable title track does not justify its length. We can take it for sure that this release came too soon for the band. They just had not enough material and this lack of substance cannot be hidden.

Today Eisenkult have three albums under their belly. Two of them are very good, “...gedenken wir der Finsternis” cannot compete with them. But let us see it positively, this fact shows that the band has developed well. And the debut is no stinker. The vocals are just one detail that can totally convince, the vehemence of some parts is remarkable and makes fun. So it is up to you whether or not you want to give the miniature full-length a chance, but keep in mind that it makes more sense to start with one of the other albums.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10