NACHTGESCHREI - Am Rande der Welt |
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Even though the cover artwork screams pagan metal straight in your face, Nachtgeschrei from Germany quite clearly adhere to the folk movement on their second album Am Rande der Welt. The band name also would make you expect rather black metal shrieks than clear folk vocals. These false assumptions made Am Rande der Welt a pleasant surprise the first time I listened to it. The CD starts with an instrumental which has the eight band members slowly but gradually entering the piece, setting an instant Celtic mood. The first regular track Muspilli proves that the vocals are one of the band’s strengths. Vocalist Hotti reminds me a lot of Sir Hannes, who may well have had an important punk past with the Idiots but nowadays can also be considered folk with his new outfit Honigdieb. Nachtgeschrei have found the right balance between folk and metal. Their music is never too raw as to disturb folk fans, barring purists. The traditional instruments (hurdy-gurdy, bagpipe,…) are also never too upfront to scare away rock and metal aficionados. The songs are rather straightforward but avoid a lack of variety. Next to countless upbeat moments, Nachtgeschrei surprise with the melancholic Fernweh and the quiet Lauf! which comes devoid of all metal ingredients. It’s quite unusual to see this band signed to a metal label. The fun stops a little after three quarters of an hour, an ideal moment, because just like football players, these guys seem to need a break after this amount of time. I can very well imagine to get back to Nachtgeschrei and their streetwise music another day again. |