Review by Michael on August 4, 2024.

Do you know the situation when you are at the dentist, and he starts drilling although the sedation doesn't work yet? The pulling pain that doesn't seem to stop? The urge to scream, jump out of the chair, and run out of the treatment room? The new, second full-length Psalmen'o'delirium by Polish Königreichssaal is a perfect soundtrack for such an unpleasant situation.

The trio is delivering slight depressive, really dragging-you-down black metal, played in most parts in the mid-tempo area and most of the time the album simply hurts. This is sheer insanity and desperation put into music. Let's take 'Rubikon' as a first example. The introducing riff, repetitive and harsh hurts your ears and the following onsetting sick chorus with the minor-set tremolo-pick isn't more comfortable either. Or the sick, crying vocals and painful screams afterward. This is pure insanity and reminds me a little bit of that fantastic movie "Seven" (does anybody remember??) where the guy had to rape the woman with something not too nice and is telling it to Detective Mills (aka Brad Pitt) later on. Ugh, this is still sending some shivers down my spine. 'Delirio' starts with an intro from an old Korean chant (which is probably the easiest part to listen to on the whole album) and when it comes to the own part, it is very accessible to the listener because of its simple song structures and more or less human vocals. Also here is mid-tempo to the motto and that's really fine with the song. Sometimes the whole thing is like a quite galloping ride and I would say that 'Delirio' is probably the easiest song to listen to on the album. At the end though, madness takes its toll, and I can see their vocalist with foam at his mouth because he screams and curses again. I guess they cannot stop from putting some insanity into their songs. But if you want to check Königreichssaal, this might a the most recommendable one to not overextend you instantly. 'Psalmen' starts with some German spoken words, also spoken in some frantic tongue, and this one is another piece that puts you in a rather unsettling mood. But what is slightly different from most of the other tracks is that they increase the tempo a little bit and incorporate some more catchy parts here. Nevertheless, the nerve-pulling madness, especially invoked by the chants and yelling, prevails and gets underlined by a violin which doesn't make the song more comfortable. Closing the album with 'Satyros' the band doesn't settle down even a little bit but kicks off with some thunderous drumming, tremolo-riffing, and again, really sick vocals (this time in Polish) that match great to this macabre atmosphere. Reinforced by some chiming bells you can feel the end is coming near. The monolithic riffs build up a lot of tension and you wait for something great to happen but the band is just keeping you on the tenterhooks… no easy ride here. I guess that listening to any Satyricon might be easier (but especially when it comes to the last ones by them).

With Psalmen'o'delirium Königreichssaal has done a challenging but also very entertaining album that is equipped with a very good production. I would not recommend this album to be listened to while you are at the dentist (as I already said in the beginning) or when you and your wife are waiting for your baby to come while you are in the delivery room (or this would speed up the whole thing a little bit) and maybe the album also isn't the best for the kids party a few years after the delivery room but for some good and intense black metal sessions, this is highly recommendable.

Rating: 8 out of 10