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Review: Klabautamann - Our Journey Through the Woods
Klabautamann
www.klabautamann.de
Our Journey Through the Woods

Label: Vendlus Records
Year released: 2008
Originally released in: 2003
Duration: 51:32
Tracks: 10
Genre: Black Metal

Rating:
4.25/5


Review online: September 7, 2008
Reviewed by: Michel Renaud
Readers' Rating
How do you rate this release?

Rated 4.14/5 (82.86%) (7 Votes)
Review

Some Black Metal from Germany here, but instead of the usual (well, mostly) anti-Christian thematic, this band is all about nature - the albums kicks off with a three minute intro that's all acoustic, but what you hear the most is someone walking through the woods.  That would have worked for 15, 30 seconds top, but three minutes?  Anyway, once the good stuff begins, it's good until the end (well, we do get another short burst of walking at the end, but just a few seconds this time.)  Klabautamann mix some folk elements in their Black Metal, but unlike many folk-inspired bands, they don't use any "exotic" instruments to convey their... "folkiness"?  It's really the actual music that often sounds folk-ish, even quite epic at times, and with the vocals (low BM rasps, mostly), it's not unlike what you'd expect from a musical - the music sounding grandiose and the vocals giving the impression that some great tales is being told.  The whole album isn't like that, but it does have a few such moments that purely and simply capture the listener's attention.

Our Journey Through the Woods has its more standard Black Metal moments, with some rather fast-paced numbers - sometimes reminding me of Emperor but without the keyboards overdose.  These are the bleaker moments, with a little atmosphere not unlike what could be heard on Hegemon's Chaos Supreme.  There are a few acoustic passages that aren't bad at all, surprisingly not really breaking the mood of the album, despite sometimes intervening in the middle of otherwise fast, typical Black Metal tracks.  These mix a little "happy" sound with a dark/menacing atmosphere, to great effect.  Hopefully with this re-issue, the band will get some more exposure since they have a somewhat unique sound and songwriting going on here, pulling off the whole epic/folk vibe without resorting to any gimmicks whatsoever.

More about Klabautamann...
Review: Der Ort (reviewed by Brett Buckle)
Review: Der Ort (reviewed by Pagan Shadow)
Review: Merkur (reviewed by Pagan Shadow)
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