Waldgeflüster began their journey in 2005 under
the direction of Winterherz, who built the
band from a solitary project into a full creative entity. Their sound emerged
from the forests and mountains of Bavaria, melancholic, emotional, and deeply
tied to nature. Over the years, they have shaped a distinctive identity in the
European black metal scene, evolving through albums like “Herbstklagen,”
“Ruinen,” and “Dahoam.” By the time of “Knochengesänge I” and “Knochengesänge
II,” the band had grown into a unified group, with a clear artistic direction
and a refined sense of atmosphere and expression.
This double-album marks their seventh full-length release, and it arrives as a culmination of nearly two decades of creative growth. Across its two halves, “Knochengesänge” explores the transience of life, the fading of memory, and the question of what remains after we are gone. The music and lyrics mirror this reflection with equal weight. Guitars rise and fall like the changing seasons, drums move from measured restraint to fierce intensity, and Winterherz’s vocals alternate between mournful cries and grounded narration.
“Knochengesänge
I” opens with “Krähenpsalme,” featuring Austin Lunn
of Panopticon, immediately setting
the emotional foundation of the record with its sweeping guitars and organic
pacing. The songs move with a natural rhythm, flowing through long passages
where melody and aggression coexist. Tracks like “Bamberg, 20. Juni” and “Von Hypnos
Und Thanatos” paint landscapes of introspection and loss, their melodies
carrying the weight of memory without falling into sentimentality. “Lethe – Der
Fluch Des Schaffenden,” featuring Alboin of Eïs, stands as a towering composition, filled with
shifting harmonies and layers that expand and contract like breath under cold
air.
“Knochengesänge
II” mirrors its twin album, not as repetition but as reflection. Many of its
tracks act as echoes or transformations of those on the first disc, translated
through different perspectives and arrangements. “Das Klagelied Der Krähen” and
“In Lethes Fluten” carry an almost ritualistic tone, giving the sense of
revisiting old ground through new eyes. The reimagined “The Little King And His
Architect” and “The Parting Glass” connect the two halves emotionally, closing
the work in a loop that feels cyclical, as if the journey must begin again
where it ends.
“Knochengesänge
I & II” is an album to absorb slowly, like walking through a dense forest
at dusk where every sound has meaning. Waldgeflüster
manages to make black metal introspective without losing its intensity,
and this release feels like a complete artistic statement, one that captures
the passage of time through sound and silence. The double album stands as a
mature and emotional work from a band that has learned to balance power and
melancholy with remarkable natural flow. “Knochengesänge” is like a closing
chapter and a new beginning, the kind of release that grows deeper the longer
you live with it.
Score:
8.4
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