Review by Felix on December 4, 2022.

Have you seen it? Bunker 66 release split after split. That’s cool, but it’s also a bit like grandmother dying. “Granny, please tell us the secret of your fantastic apple pie, before you die. What’s the recipe?” She whispers with her last breath: “Always a little too little.” Indeed, small portions can make things more valuable. Nevertheless, when it comes to Hell & Sulphur, it would have been fine to get more than only seven minutes music in total.

Be that as it may, Bunker 66 contribute another casual track. It is built on the same formula as the songs of their last full-length. Cool riffing, dominant mid-tempo but also an outbreak of high-speed and vocals that convey a lot of dirty atmosphere. Usually, I expect a proper dose of insanity when it comes to black thrash, but Bunker 66 satisfy my needs even without this element. Instead, Motörhead shimmer through the tones of 'Pandemonial Storms', a song that profits from its pretty transparent yet powerful production. All in all, this is good piece, but it stands doubtlessly in the shadow of the highlights of 'Beyond The Help Of Prayers'.

Hellcrash complete the Italian syndicate. 'Hell Breaks Loose' sounds raw. The mix is less clean than the one of their split partners, but not ill-defined. What they have in common with Bunker 66 is that they also cannot deny a punk / filthy rock ‘n’ roll influence. The song avoids experiments and its conventional verse-chorus-verse scheme is anything but surprising. In other words, Hellcrash do nothing wrong, but they cannot fully convince me as well. There is no component in their song that makes me curious for more. So it’s 60% for them and 74% for their partners in crime. And now I would be happy if I could get a piece of grandma’s apple pie.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Review by Felix on March 12, 2025.

Black metal with Bavarian lyrics was invented by Lunar Aurora in 2012 ("Hoagascht"), if I am not mistaken. But firstly this band does not exist any longer and secondly they did not have a monopoly on this approach. With that said, I am happy that Gràb have found their way out of the Bavarian Forest. It led them directly to the Klangschmiede Studio of Markus Stock, the main man of Empyrium who has also made some contributions to Kremess. So the two guys who build the core of Gràb were not alone and everything was prepared for a great work…

...and this is what we get here. Kremess has many facets. It is intense yet melodic, in-depth yet comprehensible, morbid yet mesmerizing. It lives up to its name which is hardly translatable. Kremess is a Bavarian term for "Leichenschmaus", a German word which means having a good time after the funeral while eating some good food with the other ones who also happen to still be alive. Literally, "Leichenschmaus" could also be understood as a term for eating a corpse with relish. But we Germans are too cultured for that – at least at the moment. Anyway, let's take a look at the production. Stock seems to be a kind of sound wizard. The album boasts with a full, warm and sublime but aggressive sound. I cannot say that I have any idea how this release could sound better. Amazing, especially in view of the broad range of used instruments, inter alia dulcimer, flute and viola. Nevertheless, it is only logical that guitars, vocals and drums (contributed by a guest drummer) stand in the focus of the mix – but the synths have also secured a prominent position. Their celestial, transcendental sounds create a mysterious and spooky atmosphere. Due to the opulent length of most tracks, the moody element comes into its own excellently. By the way, this is no matter of velocity. The titanic tittle track combines smooth doom parts with hellish up-tempo sections and every single note fits perfectly. "Galeere", the great work of Geïst, comes to my mind when I listen to "Kremess" (the song). It awakens the impression of floating above things despite all the heaviness and opening up a previously unknown dimension. I begin to realize that this album is a real gem and tracks like "Waidler" or "Kerkermoasta" confirm this thought.

But the brightest shining fixed point is yet to come. "Vom Gräb Im Moos" has simply everything – I repeat: everything! – what one can hope for when it comes to dark arts. A catchy yet never sugary melody, down-to-earth guitar work, expressive and demonic vocals, high atmospheric density, tragic vibes and so much more. Its absolutely coherent arrangement is almost a matter of course in view of all its wonderful single components. My thesis is: if this titan of a song was played three times at prime time on the radio, at least 80% of my fellow human beings would be converted to black metal. But to be honest, I don't like the idea at all. Our excellent community is well advised to not share its pleasure with every ordinary mainstream consumer. Exclusivity is bliss.

The stylish digipak leaves no doubt that the Bavarian duo follows a holistic vision. Indeed, nothing has been left to chance and I begin to understand what the booklet wants to tell us when it say that the vocalist "has let his life on this recording", although I am very glad that this is literally not true. Otherwise I could not fully enjoy his Attila-like performance in "Deifeszeig". If we ignore the ending of the track, he does not use theatrical vocal lines like Attila in the title track of Mayhem's eternal masterpiece. But the menacing growling which goes through marrow and bones picks up the vibes of the Hungarian role model in a very competent way. All in all, I have to look for the hair in the soup with a microscope, otherwise I do not find any shortcomings on Kremess. Yes, "Im Hexnholz", thematically connected with "Vom Gräb Im Moos", has one minute too many gentle sounds and the intermezzo "Waldeinsamkeit" does not belong to the most needed compositions. But these things cannot blind me or any other listener with even the slightest instinct for neither overly bombastic nor primitive black metal. We know when we are listening to an album full of passion, musicality, sombreness, hopelessness, spirituality and vigour. Thus, we enjoy the epic closer, but we don't accept it as a closer. We slyly sneak up to the remote control and press the repeat button. Lo and behold, the journey through the Bavarian forests in twilight begin anew. But don't worry, this does not mean that you have to read this review once again. Just inhale Kremness with all senses.

Rating: 9.3 out of 10