heavy-metal-darkness: Ellende | Zerfall

Saturday, November 29, 2025

Ellende | Zerfall | AOP Records

Release Date: 2 January 2026

Format: CD/LP/Digital

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

Country: Austria

Ellende began as the intensely private outlet of L.G. in Graz, a project shaped by isolation, bleak introspection and classical leaning black metal. Through the years it grew far beyond its solitary origins, evolving into a respected live act with albums that reached European charts and pulled in a wide international audience. The project has steadily expanded its emotional range, moving from raw misanthropy to heavier themes of human collapse, war, loss and the long road through despair. The new album, “Zerfall”, arrives during a difficult chapter in its creator’s life and channels that weight into a story of breaking apart and slowly assembling oneself again.

“Zerfall” continues Ellende’s tradition of atmospheric black metal that balances aggression with sorrow soaked melody. The album moves with an emotional gravity that feels personal, carrying the listener into Ellende’s familiar world of cold catharsis and wounded introspection. L.G. uses layered guitars, mournful harmonies and his anguished voice to build an immersive landscape. The classical touches, such as strings and piano, have been part of Ellende’s identity for years and they reappear here with careful use, adding a somber glow rather than overwhelming the metal core.

Where the album shines is in the way it drifts between rage and resignation, between eruption and calm. Nothing comes across as exaggerated or distant from Ellende’s established character. Even when the music turns more imposing or when it sinks into fragility, it retains the emotional thread that has defined the project for more than a decade. The two “Zeitenwende” songs, featuring members of Norikum and Firtan, blend naturally into Ellende’s sound, giving the record a wider palette without breaking its cohesion.

By the time the album reaches its closing moments, “Zerfall” has shaped its narrative clearly. It reflects collapse, grief, and reconstruction. It is a long work that moves with patience, offering the kind of emotional depth that Ellende has always aimed for, while keeping a steady hand on its atmosphere.

“Zerfall” stands comfortably among the strongest entries in Ellende’s catalogue, carrying forward the project’s trademark sorrow and melodic intensity. It will speak most to listeners who appreciate atmospheric black metal that leans heavily on emotional storytelling, and it reinforces Ellende as one of the genre’s most thoughtful voices. The album leaves room for the listener to wander within its sadness and its quiet resilience, which is where its power rests.

Score: 8.0