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The ridiculously named Barad Dûr first came to my attention on a split with fellow grim Germans Graven (who happen to be a far superior outfit). Dunkelheit was the band's debut from 1999 and it sounds as awful now as it did then. Comprised of seven real tracks and two from a previous demo, this is all just second wave worship with crazy sections of feral, vicious intensity that crop up out of nowhere, drums that zoom in and out of range, and vocals that are like a madman trying to get out of his cell. As far as the production goes, this is one of the worst jobs I've heard, totally un-mastered, with biscuit-tin drums and ludicrously hazy guitars. A light dusting of keyboards brings to mind early Graveland, and these are the only real sections of worth. The rest is an aimless, wandering potage that serves as little more than white noise. Even the hardcore Black Metal elite aren't missing anything by eluding this tired and formulaic attempt.