Review by Jeger on July 15, 2024.

From the bitterest strife springs the splendor of one’s greatest accomplishment. Steadfastly from within his war-torn homeland of Ukraine, Myrd'raal Bergrizen has, over the course of the past two years, faced seemingly insurmountable adversity in regard to the realization of Bergrizen’s latest LP, Die Falle. 

Bergrizen: "Believe me, it's very difficult to write music when the missiles are flying over your head and smashing buildings on the streets. It's very difficult when you are sitting without electricity 12 hours per day or sometimes even more than 24 hours. Also, Myrd'raal was in a hospital - he had some problems with his lungs - and the way to record the vocal was uncertain. Other band members were spending all their money, energy and time for the volunteering; trying every day to help soldiers and their friends who were on the frontline. We weren't sure that we would be able to finish Die Falle, but we wanted to say something about the situation in our country through music." 

In what was intended to be a bleak record to begin with, only compounded by the reality of war. Presently, as the hazy summer dew glistens the panzers and as the boots of brave Ukrainians trudge onward into the scourge, Bergrizen have brought to fruition their magnum opus... Die Falle was released on December 21, 2023 via Purity Through Fire. 

They do get released but not too often: an album of this magnificence, of this level of genuineness and of such heart & soul. Poetry in every sense of the word and a sonic feast of all things blackened/sorrowful is Die Falle. This grande-in-stature yet modestly produced specimen of what true black metal should sound like unfolds into five epic album cuts that soar the most majestic heights and dive the most somber depths. And as the future hangs in the balance of uncertainty during these arduous days, there’s comfort to be found here within these poems; a silver lining that edges the grey of each desperate passage. 'Ich Vergesse Nicht', like the soundtrack to a lucid dream, a concerto for the broken, unfolds to the majesty of divine tremolo melodies that contrast the mourning of better days, all the while as impassioned cries echo off into an atmosphere overcast by despair. Everything that makes for unforgettable black metal right here and the experience has only just begun. 

Die Falle is an album to be taken in by candlelight or the warmth of hearth; in solitary and in reflection of precious memories. Black metal for the nostalgic soul who longs for the sanctuary of ways now admonished and forlorn under the misery of today. True black metal comes from the heart! It’s the product of passion, heritage, pride, courage and hardship. Die Falle encapsulates all these things and with much beauty to behold. Even the lengthiest tracks on the LP: the aforementioned opener, the following cut, 'Ich Vergebe Nicht' and the titular track demand your undivided attention throughout their duration. To miss a second of this meaningful experience would be a sin, and not like it matters because the drama and the epic of it all will no doubt keep you ensnared: helpless, vulnerable… weightless. 

Lend the entirety of yourself over now and prepare to experience black metal in its most meaningful form. The heartache of today has got nothing on this I can assure you. The uncertainty of the future? Forgotten if only for the time allotted as you slip into what I can only describe as a warm spring for the soul. I fell in love with black metal because of records like this one. Chills, goosebumps and perhaps even a tear or two to be shed. On a purely musical level, Die Falle is a work of wisdom and the product of one who is not only in tune with the spirit of black metal but also possessing of the ability to really feel the music and capture all those emotions that we keep mostly hidden. A truly cathartic experience and a perfect black metal album from top to bottom. 

As you read this, a bitter war rages and it’s the courageous sacrifices that are being made by great men of valor and of country who are keeping hope alive. The world we once knew lost so quickly once again to the power-hungry aspirations of evil men and the cowardice of weak leaders who’ve either forgotten or have simply never known the meaning of what it is to fight the good fight. And so it’s through the voice of true black metal - the voice of the adversary - that Bergrizen have chosen to carry their message of despair and hope for a better tomorrow. I for one, would dare not have it any other way. 

Rating: 10 out of 10