Andras "Reminiszenzen..." CD Digipack

Here we got another band from the great roaster of German black/pagan metal specialists Einheit Produktionen. Andras have been around for quite a while with their origins going back to the nineties. “Reminiszensen” is their full length number seven and it is obvious from the get-go that they are a bunch of seasoned and highly talented musicians.

The typical tremolo picks and the pummeling blasts can be found here as well and build the basis of Andras’ music. While each black metal band puts a lot of emphasis on building an intense atmosphere Andras have gone even a bit further compared to their peers. I would not go as far as labelling this album as atmospheric black metal as the main focus is still on the riffs and the relentless drum attacks but there are a lot of desperate and haunting harmonies dwelling in the background. Eerie and epic themes presented by the lead guitar are always present – sometimes more subtle and in other places as leading elements defining certain parts of the song.

One issue I often have with black metal is that a lot of bands seem to think it is enough to play and look as evil as possible. This is not the case with these Germans as they perfectly know how to piece together all the elements to weave intricate yet highly enjoyable soundscapes. The listener will get hypnotized by dark and powerful themes and melodies. There is a great amount of melancholy defined by the guitar harmonies in each of the songs and by repeating similar trademark lines in later sections the whole album gains a lot when being consumed in one go. The songs are professionally constructed and while there is a lot going on there are enough hooks and clear song structures to make the music pretty easy to get into.

The songs are full of smaller and bigger surprises and while there are quite a few tempo changes within the single tracks the songwriting always stays highly stringent within the single tracks. The pagan harmonies and symphonic elements are captivating and the vocals including typical black metal barking but also a cleaner style reminding of epic metal bands help defining the DNA of Andras. Go and check out “Der Raubschütz Teil 1” to get an idea what this band is all about.

The production is pretty much flawless with the guitars and drums sounding powerful and punchy. The mix is perfectly clear making all the details and different elements easily audible. While some might argue that black metal needs more rawness I think that “Reminiszensen” highly benefits from this approach. The artwork is amazing and I am glad to say that the label and the band decided to offer an absolutely premium digipak edition. The optical value and the hands-on feeling of this product is fantastic. The cover illustration also is among the most beautiful ones I have seen so fans and collectors should not miss out on this one.

Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=lGiUTDu-EmE

Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=GnPIpHT4Ha8