ALBUM REVIEW: Traktat – Karg

Michael V. Wahntraum or ‘JJ’ as he is more commonly known is most typically recognised as the frontman for the Austrian black metal band HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY, but a less common affiliation is with his side project, KARG. Formed in 2006 as a solo venture, it has long since acted as an outlet for JJ, and to this day stands as a true insight into his darkest confines. Now on the cusp of releasing fifth full length Traktat, he talks about the album as being of particular personal importance.

It is safe to say that the record is stunning. Far from being a comfortable listen, it cuts like a blade with relentless honesty and an almost unique ability to allow us total insight into its devastating themes. JJ is well known for his ability to portray abject emotion through his voice, and this is perhaps one of his best performances to date. He talks about how KARG has always been an outlet for melancholia; one that amongst other things frequently touches on broken relationships, drug abuse, suicidal thoughts and depression.

Yet still, this time things feel different. Perhaps it is because the execution is just better, or perhaps it is a direct result of the circumstances surrounding its recording. JJ speaks about how dark his mindset was through the process. On the verge of self-implosion, he was told by doctors that he was in the grasp of a depressive episode that would last six months, stemmed as a result of things beginning to fall apart in his life. But, quite often brilliance blossoms from trauma, and JJ certainly allowed his purgative energy to bloom in Traktat.

As a piece of music it is utterly beautiful, but perhaps in the way that a perilous frost might entrap plantlife. Irgendjemand Wartet Immer opens in expansive fashion, affording an impregnable layer of post-black bliss and from there, each track takes an anything-can-happen approach that drifts from black metal to shoegaze without us even noticing. The transitions are constant yet seamless, and even through heavier sections in tracks like Johr Ohne Sommer the instrumentals are idyllic. It might be the melodic, tremolo guitar, or drawn out sections of ambient drumming, or simply a combination of everything cascading at once.

And it is this overwhelming quantity of serene chaos that weighs down our emotions. The intro to Stolperkenotaphe is impossibly quaint, before JJ‘s despaired voice join the mix. He haunts each track with a raw vocal performance that feels unpolished and real, presenting his harrowed thoughts with unforgiving malice. It isn’t harsh, instead it makes for a painstaking listen that portrays a man at his absolute lowest. It is almost frightening to hear this level of catharsis from another human being, but the fact is that JJ spills pain and passion in equal measure.

As a whole, the album is over an hour and a quarter in length, split into eight tracks. In longer excerpts such as Abgrunddialektik, there is even more space in which to wallow. The guitar work is mind bogglingly good, ever more effective at every turn, and the album continues to twist and contort every few minutes. At moments through Grabcholerik the album becomes pure post rock, dazzling with ambient allure, all the while punctuated by desperate cries and riffs that seem to physically grab our hand and drag us through the rabbit hole onto a journey of grief.

Once finally concluded by Tod, Wo Bleibt Dein Frieden? the album plays out in elegance. Traktat as a whole is so much more than just a black metal album. Over the years, JJ has mastered the art of knowing exactly when to strike and when to hold back, and this record employs that skill perfectly, opting to reserve the darkest moments for when they are most impactive. It is a perfectly weighted balance of quiet and noise, of grief and of perfection, and quite frankly it could not be a better insight into the deepest black of the human mind.

Rating: 9/10

Traktat is out now via AOP Records.

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