IIt’s no secret that I have come to appreciate and love Ellende over the past decade, as I have reviewed their albums in some capacity over the years, the most recent being their fourth album, Ellenbogengesellschaft. Although I missed their last record due to it being a re-recording of their second album, I was hopeful that whatever new music we got from the band was going to be continuing their “less is more” approach to black metal. Now, at the start of the new year, the band returns with their sixth full-length, Zerfall.
Zerfall starts with the idyllic “Nur”, a track that, while somber in nature, remains gentle until the black metal kicks in on second track “Wahrheit Teil I”. However, “Wahrheit Teil I” is not just pretty, mournful passages of music that remind me of the countryside. The music feels appropriately bleak and cold, especially when the vocals make their appearance, an indication that while the music underneath the vocal lines is ethereal, this is still black metal you are listening to. However, there are still surprises rooted in the music itself. For example, “Wahrheit Teil I” has both a cowbell and what sounds like a cow’s moo in the middle of the track that just takes you by surprise. Granted, the music remains on the somber side, and the vocals do give the music an aggressive feel, but having a gentle moo in the middle of an intense, emotional track is a nice break from what many would perceive as monotony. There are other surprises as well, such as “Wahrheit Teil II” having a black’n’roll break that makes the song one of my favorite tracks on the album. The section has some great rhythm in it, its tempo moving quickly and allowing Ellende to have fun with their black metal, even if it returns to that idyllic, somber nature which permeates throughout its runtime. Meanwhile, title track “Zerfall” has a slight pulse in the drums which makes it sound like a heartbeat, as if underneath that mournful atmosphere lies something asking to be heard.
There’s this romantic undercurrent that runs through Zerfall, as if asking the listener to find beauty underneath the decay, underneath the overwhelming silence one finds within the confines of its music. However, this doesn’t mean the music is empty or is devoid of something. The music is heavy, poignant, and has a certain flair which quickly fills the space a lot of its quieter moments leave in its wake. It’s as if Ellende is asking the listener to slow down, to appreciate the complexity and beauty of reflection and stillness, to accept that they can be alone with their thoughts. Zerfall is a reflective, emotional album, one with enough depth to weigh on the listener. I found myself looking for the things that make Ellende a band that continues to resonate with me, and what I found instead was a plethora of things that make me realize that they have matured and, in a sense, I have grown up with them.
However, I couldn’t help but notice that, while Zerfall has this deep, romantic outlook that is woven into their music, it felt like it missed the mark. After multiple listens, my main issue with Zerfall is that the music feels stale, for lack of a better term. Ellende’s main shtick has always been the incorporation of orchestral elements – strings, pianos, majestic compositions of music – into their black metal, creating this atmospheric, post-metal-esque sound that works well with their aesthetic. Despite the fact that the band has started to experiment more here, it seems that they have become comfortable with their sound and the way they make music. That is not a bad thing – after all, I have defended a lot of bands for sticking to their principles if something works for them – but because of the stock I place on Ellende, perhaps I was expecting something new and compelling from a band that has stood out in a genre that has become extremely saturated over the years. Zerfall still remains an objectively great album, but I just wish the music had more sonic experimentation and risk-taking in it. Hopefully, we will see more experimentation due to those slight black’n’roll and electronic influences in a future record.
All in all, Zerfall is an album that will both resonate with longtime fans and bring new fans into the fold. While I wish there was more oomph on this record, I still enjoyed this album a lot. Atmospheric post-black metal still reigns supreme as a genre to me, and I am pleased that this band has continued to persist despite the genre’s saturation. I cannot wait to see what new things Ellende will continue to create, and I cannot wait to see their further evolution as a band/project.
–Hera
Zerfall is available January 2 on AOP Records. For more information on Ellende, visit their official Facebook and Instagram.