ALBUM REVIEW: Mythen, Mären, Pestilenz – Ungfell
Swiss extreme metal (or, come to think of it, pretty much any metal from Switzerland) isn’t known for sticking to well trodden paths and conventions. From the likes of CELTIC FROST and their avant garde trappings, through to the trite folk metal of ELUVEITIE, Switzerland is a nation that consistently produces some of the world’s most intriguing and experimental Metal acts. UNGFELL, from Zurich, very much fit this musical stereotype; formed by Menetekel just four years ago, they’ve quickly gained a cult following with a raw and harsh form of black metal that flirts with folk instrumentation, producing music that certainly makes them stand out from your average underground black metal act. Their second album Mythen, Maren, Pestilenz sees them poised to take the Black Metal world by storm, and shows us a band that have reached their creative zenith.
Raubnest ufm Uetliberg acts as an introduction to the album, with some brilliant acoustic guitar pieces, flutes and percussion helping to ease the listener into the album. It shifts fairly abruptly from sweet, melodious lines to much more ominous, discordant ones, and the album is practically ushered into life with a foreboding, devilish cackle, before the song reaches its final phase, and the album proper begins.
De Turst und s Wuetisheer, the album’s first full song, couples a raw production with frenetic, yet tight and melody-tinged, music to great effect. Hellish, shrieking vocals jump straight out at you, every bit as shrill and acidic as the guitars. This particular song is interspersed with acoustic guitar interludes, sparse keyboard sections and folk music inspired hooks that do a lot to keep this track compelling. It’s a well crafted, eclectic piece of music with a frenzied, borderline crazed feel to it, and although the vocals are at some points a little jarring, it’s an otherwise brilliant song with well thought out, epic flourishes.
Oberlandmystik takes us away from the sort of frenzied edge that characterised the first track, giving us a more ambient feel which acts as a great interlude, leading straight into Bluetmatt. This song is a fast and furious cut of melodic black metal that has a slight air of WINDIR about it. With sudden shifts in speed, intensity and tone, it manages to be dark, vicious and even spiritedly in its near six minute span. Liberally infused with acoustic flourishes and folky instrumentation, it’s thoroughly captivating from start to finish.
Die Heidenburg, gradually building to a crescendo with its opening notes, quickly launches into a blistering, tight piece of music. It has some brilliantly thick, bubbling bass lines, precise and unerring drums and visceral guitars that slice through the mix and rise to the top of the mix, along with equally shrill and grating vocals. Choral chanting is incorporated, which gives this a solidly grandiose feel, and when impressive medieval folk music is thrown into the fray, the song takes on a life of its own. It’s an incredibly immersive piece of music, and takes the listener on a journey through both delicate and harsh tones and musicianship, and the overall result draws you in immediately.
De Fluech vom Togelli, another shorter, medieval folk based piece of instrumentation, cleanses the palette with soft guitar sections and accordion pieces before the we hear the performer of the piece get up and walk out of the studio. Despite this not being music in and of itself, it definitely adds an atmospheric, almost cinematic feel to this track, and makes the listener brim with anticipation, as it makes you, naturally, assume that this is leading to something. Die Hexenbrut zu Nirgendheim ups the ante on the black metal front, providing some solid riffing and bestial howls that will no doubt satisfy any died in wool black metaller. The accordions in this song’s second half help to break it up a little, and then UNGFELL launch into some fairly powerful lead guitar hooks that completely change the atmosphere and intensity of this song. It does have a lot of changes in guitar tone, and shifts from faster to far slower sections throughout, which ultimately helps keep the track fresh and results in yet another impressive composition without straying into the realms of over the top, technical lunacy.
Guggisberglied, yet another short folky number, makes great use of the accordions, percussive pieces, some sparse guitar pieces and haunting vocals that, combined, possess an ambience that it’s hard not to love, again bringing the album’s tone down from the frenzied and energetic previous song, setting us up for the final two songs rather well. Der Ritter von Lassaraz is initially a far more mid-paced and laid back affair, with robust bass lines and powerful guitar chords complementing the shrill, tortured howls that back the track up. The song takes a turn towards some more incredible folk instrumentation that leads us into the track proper. It’s an impenetrable wall of guitars, drums, vocals and bass, that occasionally grinds to a halt to throw in some hook-laden leads and catchy vocal delivery. It does eventually recapitulate to clean guitars, if only for a short while, but the underlying darkness of this track still lingers. Inevitably, we head back into more chaotic and aggressive musicianship, which is a mainstay for the rest of the track. This song, along with the one that follows it, is one of the longest on the record, but there is so much musical variety on offer that the near eight minutes of this track simply fly by.
Raserei des Unholds brings this album to a close in a very atmospheric fashion. It begins with some more folky passages, and gradually shifts into a dark and melancholic piece of black metal music. It’s a whirlwind of chaotic riffs and razor sharp, speed driven rhythms, and contains some of the most impressive vocal performances on the whole album. Just like the vast majority of this record, the music is very energetic, and it takes the listener through a variety of different emotions and stylistic changes, drawing together all of the key tropes that have made this an excellent record and placing them all into a single song. It’s a brilliant way to cap off an equally brilliant album.
It feels quite strange to use words like cinematic to describe a black metal record, but it’s a word that really summarises UNGFELL‘s music perfectly; at many points, it is so incredibly immersive that it’s very easy to get caught up in the music and be completely absorbed by it. This is an unbelievably impressive record that manages to blend the orthodox, raw sound of early black metal with progressive elements and some excellent folk accompaniments, resulting in one of the most impressive black metal records of this year thus far. It’s clear that UNGFELL enjoyed creating and performing this music, right from the first listen. Everything on here, from the music itself, through to the excellent job Greg Chandler did on the mastering of it, makes this the band’s greatest achievement, and an early contender for album of the year.
Rating: 9/10
Mythen, Mären, Pestilenz is out now via Eisenwald.
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