Review by Felix on June 3, 2026.

...and once again the mountain calls. Let us follow DauÞuz into its very heart. It is cold, damp and dark, of course, but it is also very dramatic. DauÞuz offer a forgotten story from Joachimsthal, were German prisoners of war and civilians had to work under inhuman conditions for the Communist regime. Between 1945 and 1964 suffered more than 300.000 workers and as far as I can see, roughly one in two of them did not survive. So we have a regional focus, a cruel, spooky topic, mother-tongue singing and a band that has already proven its outstanding skills. All requirements for another great black metal work are given – what can go wrong?

I guess the only thing that is out of order is the balance between the total volume of good metal and my time capacities. Otherwise I have no explanation why I missed "Uranium" – its predecessor was fantastic and the same goes for its successor "Todeswerk: Uranium II". Okay, in terms of style, not much (or maybe even nothing) has changed. The Germans play melodic and epic, but also vehement and intense black metal with typical, cold lines as well as titanic outbursts of power. Even the scheme of the album is more or less identical with the one of "Vom Schwarzen Schmied". In the third and sixth positions there are short, introverted interludes; the remaining six positions feature a full metallic sound. By the way, one of the strengths of DauÞuz is their ability to blend calm and loud, extroverted elements. Maybe it is true that there is no shortcut to success, but these musicians know the shortcut to grandeur and drama.

Admittedly, due to a mild form of artistic stagnation, the wow effect of previous works does not show up again. However, the music does not fall short of its purpose. The listener can let their mind wander and lose themselves completely in the music and / or the mountain. The excellent production delivers the warm embrace. "Todeswerk: Uranium II" does not attack with a raw technical execution. What we get is a pretty smooth yet never toothless sound, well-balanced and highly professional. Having said this, it does not surprise that the songs shine in all their glory. It is true, however, that the album fails to maintain the standard set at the beginning. But both "Joachimsthal / Jáchymov" and "Uranlager I" are close to perfection and so the following tracks are by no means weak, only because they don't measure up with the double strike at the beginning. Maybe "Hammerzwang" is even one of the best, spookiest intermezzos of the band so far.

Regardless of the quality of the individual tracks, one thing is certain. DauÞuz are able to arrange flawlessly flowing songs. Perhaps they emphasize their melodies a bit too much with the frequent "ohoho" background vocals, but this is no big thing at the end of the day. So all I can say is that the duo (and session drummer Werwolf) presents a very personal form of black metal. "Todeswerk: Uranium II" is melodic, grim, heroic and symphonic, while the very interesting lyrics remain of the fact that the communistic ideology is no way better than any other. A truth that, at least in my country, people tend to forget. But let's keep politics and music separate – those who lend an ear to the album will enjoy it.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10