Review by Vladimir on March 28, 2024.

It’s time to dive deep into the forest of hanged men, as I take a look at the German black metal band Kreuziger with their demo Der Wald Der Gehenkten, released via Demented Omen Of Masochism in March 2019.

Kreuziger haunts the woods with raw and uncompromising black metal that shrieks like a distant cry of ghoul. Primitive rawness and feelings of torment are at the core of Kreuziger’s music, expressed through aggressive riffs, heavy drumming and harsh vocals, which altogether manage to craft this atmosphere of dread and discord, painted in grey and shaded in black. Throughout the entire demo EP, it’s all like one journey with a heavy roller coaster that bounces back and forth with the predominant aggressive and emotional riff moments that are recurring throughout the entire release.

When it comes to the songwriting, it’s not really so dynamic and progressive despite its constant transitions between sections, because for the most part it keeps the same beat going. Even though it’s got a very noticeable stylistic consistency in every song, it doesn’t really help the fact that it mostly feels rather uninspiring and “more of the same” from one song to another. I won’t lie, there are times when certain riffs manage to create something that can really connect with me, but where it fails to deliver is the lack of power and expression in the riffs. For the most part it doesn’t really hold the attention, and it’s a bit of a letdown because some songs show great potential at the beginning, but in the end they don’t really go anywhere.

Personally, I don’t consider this demo to be a bad release, but it’s not as good as it should be. It really feels like it was meant to be a very misanthropic and raw black metal demo that could mesmerize you and make you feel like wandering within the woods, but it ultimately comes down to a very generic and lackluster demo that just doesn’t leave a mark.

Rating: 6.2 out of 10