Anheim - Official Website


Anihorim

Germany Country of Origin: Germany

Anihorim
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Buy on: Bandcamp
Type: Full-Length
Release Date: April 15th, 2022
Label: Independent
Genre: Black, Melodic
1. Zum Ende Der Zeit
2. Scherbenstimmen
3. Im Verließ Der Seele
4. Schwarzes Wetter
5. Bis Nur Schmutz Verbleibt
6. Ausweglos
7. Am Rande Der Katharsis
8. Blendwerk

Review by Dominik on February 1, 2025.

First impressions can be misleading, and hindsight sometimes isn't kind. There are albums that grow on you, revealing their full brilliance over time. And then there are albums like Anihorim, which start strong, only to unravel with each subsequent listen. Anheim's debut is firmly in the latter camp. What initially felt like a treasure—gold, or at least silver—quickly revealed itself to be more akin to bronze. By the third listen, that bronze had oxidized into rusty metal, and whatever charm the album initially held gave way to flaws simmering just beneath the surface. It was like discovering that your fancy, super hyped Dubai chocolate is in fact from Turkey and the cocoa content is not 70, but 17 percent. The lesson here? Don't let the power of a first impression cloud your judgement. Do not rush to finish a review, just to be the first, the fastest or both. A hasty assessment might crown a mediocre album with undeserved praise.

Let's revisit my initial reaction. At first, Anheim's debut struck me as a well-produced melodic black metal record. The first half sometimes flirts with death metal riffing—the opener and "Scherbenstimmen" ("Shard Voices"), especially during the slower parts, being the most notable examples—while the second half puts more emphasis on creating atmosphere. Subtle keyboards appear in tracks like "Am Rande Der Katharsis" ("At the Edge of Catharsis"), the strongest track on the album. This song demonstrates how a recurring riff, reflected in both keyboard melodies and the piano outro, can create cohesion and elevate a composition. The harsh vocals add a sharp counterpoint to the melodic instrumentation, and the blend of blast beats and slower sections creates a well-paced dynamic. Even the lyrics stand out and go beyond the typical black metal run-off-the-mill lyricism of evil, sacrifice, inverted crosses and ugly witches. They are more introspective and original: an exploration of inner torment and devotion to Surgtoh, the enigmatic "black one".

So far, so good—or so it seemed. What my subconsciousness already noticed though, became obvious to a degree that it started to grate my nerves. Over time, the album's weaknesses became glaringly apparent. For one, there's no true standout track, that one song you'll come back to months later. While "Am Rande Der Katharsis" and the closer, "Blendwerk" (Illusion), are stronger than most, neither delivers the kind of punch that compels you to revisit the album. Without a true highlight, the rest of the album blends together like black metal wallpaper: ominous, sure, but unmemorable and it struggles to rise above its own mediocrity.

Then there's my issue with the production, which initially feels just polished but soon reveals its artificial edges. The double bass drums sound triggered to the point of being robotic, and I'd wager a good chunk of my last salary that the band didn't have a live drummer in the studio. The guitars are a mixed bag, too. When diving into death metal-inspired riffing, they sound dull and hollow, as if recorded in a hollow pipe. In contrast, when the guitars go into full black metal mode—as in "Im Verließ Der Seele" ("In the Dungeon of the Soul")—they showcase clever melodies and feel far more natural. These stylistic inconsistencies disrupt the songs' and the album's flow and muddy its identity.

And then there are the vocals. This is what really drove the performance below the 70 points rating mark (which constitutes in my book this magical threshold that makes me come back to an album from time to time). They are harsh, aggressive, and textbook black metal, but entirely devoid of expression and utterly one-dimensional. They deliver rage and malevolence, yes, but my electric razor, frankly, offers a wider emotional range. It's a shame, because a strong frontman who can inject some personality and depth into their delivery could elevate this material substantially. Here, the monotony of the performance drags everything down.

To be fair, Anihorim is a debut, and debut albums are rarely flawless. There's potential here as Anheim clearly knows how to craft melodies and atmospheres that could work, and their lyrical themes show ambition beyond the usual satanic clichés. With time, they may find their footing and refine their sound into something truly memorable.

In the end, I feel both glad and sad that I didn't review Anihorim right away. Glad, because it allowed me to adjust my judgement, but sad, the band that undoubtedly put so much effort into the album ultimately could not live up to the strong first impression made. A solid debut? Perhaps. A lasting one? Doubtful.

Rating: 6.8 out of 10, because first impressions can be like Tinder dates—promising, but sometimes disappointing.

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