Wald Geist Winter ‎"Teufelskreise" CD

Black Devastation Records usually have a pretty good standard for their releases, and there’s this typical underground feel to their roster. It seems like half of it’s made up of Taake’s own projects, and I suspect he’s also involved in Wald Geist Winter, but under the moniker of Sucellus. And given the quality of his other acts (Wolfsschrei, Odal, Erhabenheit etc) I have to admit that I’m a little disappointed by Teufelskreise.
What we’re dealing with here is quite Norwegian sounding black metal, that of the 90ies style. A German flair is added, but the focus is predominately on the second wave of Norwegian black metal. On the surface Teufelskreise might seem to have it all, but once you listen carefully and really focus some cracks and flaws will appear. The biggest flaw, maybe even the only genuine flaw, is the riffing. It’s rare that I say this, but it is truly uninteresting. Sure, the melody is there, but the overall quality of riffs is very low. There isn’t a single one you’ll remember after the album’s over, and it’s quite frankly a little difficult to even notice the riffs while the record’s playing. It sounds incredibly basic in that department, and on a couple of occasions even truly annoying; I mean seriously, what the hell is the deal with the fucked-up, low-fi solo at the end of Der nacht entrissen?
Trying to overlook the fact that a very important part of Wald Geist Winter’s music is so uninspiring I have to admit that the rest of it’s solid. The drumming is really good with great tempo changes, and it’s noticeable there’s a knack for great blasting that really takes you back to before it became a competition of who could get the most BPMs. It sounds vivid and true, nothing triggered about it. The bass drum sound is also quite hefty, leaving the pounding moments resounding through the listener’s spine as it hammers on. Vocally they’ve definitely got it nailed. While the overall scream is a typical black scream they spice things up with extremely effective backups, like the brief moments of a clean choir in König Lorak, which almost gives me goosebumps, it’s so good.
In the end I’d really like to focus solely on the positive parts, and the positive parts are really bloody positive, but unfortunately the negative part (ie the bland riffing) is such a downer. But, don’t let that scare you away from this album. The riffing might not be something you’ll hum in the shower, but the melodies do complement the great drumming and vocals nicely.

Sample: