ALBUM REVIEW: Dahoam – Waldgeflüster

There’s something about the concept of nature that pairs well with black metal. Perhaps it’s the way in which something so untameable and threatening can also be so intensely beautiful and captivating. That’s definitely the case for Germany’s WALDGEFLÜSTER, a band who’ve drawn inspiration from the wilderness for a while now. Formed in 2005 as a solo project but now operating as a five-piece, Dahoam is their sixth full-length. It’s a follow-up of sorts to 2011’s Femundsmarka – Eine Reise In Drei Kapitel, and this time sees the band tying their explorations of nature to the concept of home. The results are expansive and emotive, with the album’s 49-minute runtime providing moments of both maelstrom ferocity and delicate beauty in equal measure.

The influence of nature is clear from the very start on Dahoam. Opener A Taglachinger Morgen greets us with singing birds who provide a serene backing to warm acoustic guitars. It’s a gentle way to start the record, capturing feelings of a quiet forest on a crisp early morning. Of course, nature’s presence hangs heavy throughout the album as a whole too. Over seven tracks, we follow the band through distant wind, pounding rain, caves, streams, rivers, and more. It often makes for an intensely transportive experience, one that’s only accentuated by the grandeur of the music itself. It also certainly feels like a timely release for those of us in the northern hemisphere as we prepare for the dark and cold of the approaching winter.

As black metal goes, WALDGEFLÜSTER have never offered the most acerbic take on the genre. Dahoam is no different. It’s a melodic, dynamic record, one of soaring leads and delicate interludes and breaks. Second track Im Ebersberger Forst – one of three which top ten minutes on the album – provides an early example of this. It’s a towering piece with frosty tremolo-picking and rapid blast beats, but it never feels overly grim or oppressive. Instead, there’s a real epic quality to proceedings, as though we’ve moved from the relative peace of the opener to a more widescreen view of the wilds in all their glory. Fourth track Am Tatzlwurm stands similarly tall, erupting with force out of another quieter interlude in Am Stoa. The production is solid too, capturing a raw black metal feel without ever sinking to that dreaded ‘toaster’ quality.

With its focus on home, it makes sense that Dahoam was written and sung completely in the band’s native Bavarian dialect. While Google Translate isn’t much help here, it’s clear that it all means a lot to founder and vocalist Winterherz. His performance is powerfully emotive, placing him at the centre of the record even amid the intensity that so often surrounds him. He has the requisite icy scream down to a T, but it’s his sung vocals that really stand out. These add heaps of melody to the album, and often inject it with a real mournful quality too. Sixth track Mim Blick Aufn Kaiser proves this well, as the vocals help turn this piece into perhaps the grandest and finest song on the record.

Admittedly, Dahoam doesn’t do much to move the goalposts when it comes to black metal of this ilk. Bands like PANOPTICON and FALLS OF RAUROS have set plenty of precedent for what happens here by now. However, none of that takes away from what this album does have to offer. This is a well-crafted record whose reasonably lengthy runtime never feels like a slog. Those fond of WALDGEFLÜSTER‘s previous output – or that of the artists mentioned – will be more than happy with Dahoam, while others looking for a more melodic entry point into an often impenetrable genre would do well to give it a go.

Rating: 8/10

Dahoam is set for release on YouTube and Bandcamp on September 24th via AOP Records. It will be released physically and on all other platforms on October 22nd.

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