ALBUM REVIEW: Zeitgeist – The Very End

It’s been a full nine years since the world last heard from THE VERY END. Hailing from Ruhr, Germany, the five-piece’s previous offering, Turn Off The World, came out way back in 2012. Now, with two new members, they’re here to pick up where that album left off for their fourth full-length Zeitgeist. That’s exactly what they do: this album sees them continue to mix thrash, melodeath and groove metal for a concoction that’s sure to please fans of the likes of AT THE GATES, SYLOSIS and TRIVIUM.

The album opens with a rather standard instrumental intro track in the form of Teratoma. Here, a lone piano gets things started before the band come crashing in to grand and epic effect. Right off the bat, guitarists René Bogdanski and new recruit Marc Bräutigam are quick to make their presence known. One of them provides the first of the record’s many impressive solos, while the duo later link up for some solid harmonised leads. Their playing remains a highlight throughout Zeitgeist. Over the 11 tracks which follow, they provide riff after riff after riff – all of these of a good standard of technicality. There’s also plenty more soaring lead work, and, as mentioned, a tonne of formidable soloing.

Vocalist Björn Gooßes also makes for a key presence on the record. We first hear from him on the album’s roaring second track Light The Lows, where he introduces himself with a harsh melodeath-esque bark. It’s a good fit with the band’s music, but it’s not all Gooßes does on Zeitgeist. On third track On Parole for example, he opts for theatrical Hetfieldian cleans to deliver a catchy melodic chorus. This is something he does on several other songs too, invariably turning them into some of the record’s most memorable. Perhaps one of the strongest examples of this comes on the album’s sixth track Short Cuts Deep Wounds, where Gooßes’ vocals help make the song a firm overall highlight.

At its core, Zeitgeist is just a solid metal album. Every member holds their own on the technical front, while the production keeps things sounding huge throughout. The problem however, is that THE VERY END claim they aren’t playing what they call a “standard heavy metal game”, when it kind of feels like they are. There’s not much on Zeitgeist that seems particularly innovative, nor is the record all that varied. It’s definitely not bad, just perhaps not as ground-breaking as the band might lead you to believe.

All this can make it hard to pick out obvious highlights, but there are a few moments worth mentioning. There’s the high energy catchiness of the already-mentioned sixth track Short Cuts Deep Wounds for example. Brave New Blood which follows directly after it is also particularly strong. This one features an especially beastly verse riff which practically defies listeners not to bang their heads. After that, Anechoic rounds off this strong run with epic strings and more guaranteed headbanging.

Another challenge presented by Zeitgeist’s relatively limited variation is that at 49 minutes it’s a touch on the long side. Realistically, aside from a slight lack of originality, there’s not much wrong with any of the tracks as stand-alone pieces. Taken collectively however and they start to become a bit samey and struggle to hold their listeners’ attention. Perhaps this would be less of a problem if the album was just a couple of tracks shorter, or if the band had opted for a few more moments of quiet.

To be fair to them, THE VERY END do provide a couple more decent tracks that make Zeitgeist worth sticking around till the end for. From Boon To Bane is another energetic rager, with Gooßes throwing slightly more guttural vocals into the mix. Next, closing track Until There’s Nothing Left brings a particularly grand and epic end to proceedings. It boasts soaring lead guitars, the seemingly requisite massive solo, and a chorus hook that’s hard to shake.

Overall, Zeitgeist marks a reasonably welcome return for THE VERY END. It’s not about to change the metal landscape for years to come, but it does what it does perfectly well. If what you’re looking for is a collection of headbanging sing-alongs and some proper guitar wizardry, you could do a lot worse than this.

Rating: 7/10

Zeitgeist is set for release May 14th via Apostasy Records.

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