And so we come to mythsofmetal, who has suggested this album for me. Now, due to running “The International Language of Metal” I’ve experienced some non-English-speaking bands, so this is not going to turn me off, but unfortunately I can dig up little information about the band other than that this is their second album, the first in four years, and that according to their website they will be releasing one more and then calling it a day. They hail from Austria but apparently sing in German, not that I’d know the difference!
Seelenwund --- Mondstile --- 2012 (Indeendent)
Recommended by mythsofmetal
A quiet opening, with what sounds like surf and maybe wind, then a rolling drum and guitar fade in, getting louder and taking over the track as “Ich hab geträumt…” opens the album. A quiet, low-key vocal speaks in German, though as with Flaming Bess, reviewed in the Top 100 Prog albums in my journal, I have no clue what he’s saying. The track quickly becomes a fast sort of death metal affair, with roared vocals and much faster guitar, though still good. At this point I realise we’ve overlapped with “Mein inner sturm”, which must surely mean “my inner storm”? I guess the first track was a kind of introduction. This has real machinegun guitar and thumping drums, a lot of energy and power.
In the fourth minute it rather surprisingly drops to an acoustic guitar which is augmented by piano and violin, courtesy of Lundar, a real change in direction, everything slowing down before of course it all kicks back up with hammering drums and kill-em-all guitar as the last few minutes of the track wind down, taking us into “Im trauerhain”, where everything flies along at top speed, vocalist Wrath growling out the lines again while guitarist Leandin fires off some impressive shredding. I think in a way Panopticon prepared me for this sort of music and I’m beginning to get it now, to look beyond the unsetting vocal and listen to the music. Which is overall pretty good. Lundar’s violin comes back in here, but it’s kind of drowned out by the nuclear guitar and not half as effective as it was on the previous song.
Another acoustic guitar piece opens “Zeitenwandre”, with the beautful violin adding its voice too, but I can’t help but feel it won’t last. And it doesn’t. Another aural assault as the drummer (uncredited here) tries to destroy his kit, and even the re-emergence of the violin can’t stop the chaotic guitar. But it’s all in tune, and quite melodious really. Next up is “Die seele frie”, which opens with a solo violin before the guitar and drums crash down like avenging angels, but this time Lundar refuses to be beaten into submission, and the violin holds it own and joins the rocking melody, actually leading it at quite a tempo for such an instrument. Leandin’s guitar does take over though about halfway through, as Wrath continues to bellow before everything stops for another acoustic guitar line joined by the violin. It lasts longer this time but is still nevertheless kicked aside by electric guitar and stomping drums.
“Flammend” (flaming? On fire?) goes right for the jugular from the off, with a thunder of drums and a big nasty guitar reaching for your throat, It hammers along, but then .. you know what? I’m bored now. It was interesting for a while but the novelty’s worn off. Every song is the same basic pattern: start hard and fast then go slow then back to the original pace, or vice versa. But there’s not enough there. It’s good music but it’s too limited. It’s like trying to write a bestselling novel with only a handful of phrases or writing a TV screenplay with two scenes and one character. It’s a case of moving the same blocks around to make new structures, but the same basic shape remains, and while the violin is nice, as is the piano, they’re not used enough and when they are used, it’s more to break up the general guitar and drum attack. I need more than this to keep me interested.
So again we begin with acoustic guitar, a nice romping beat and violin as “Sehnsucht versus Leben” starts, but quickly it fulfils the expectation and hammers into another aural assault. Yawn. Could have told you that was going to happen. Tell you what: I’m just going to listen to the rest of the album --- there are six tracks left, including this --- sort of on autopilot, and if anything unexpected or out of the ordinary happens I’ll let you know. But I have a feeling it’s all going to be more of the same.
It can’t be denied that when they cut back with the violin and acoustic guitar Mondstille sound absolutely gorgeous, and both the guys are superbly talented, and by extension when they rock/metal it up they’re also great. I just don’t feel the two should be mashed together they way they’re doing here. It’s too jarring: you’re just chilling to a nice violin when suddenly there’s a big nasty roar and a guitar hammers you over the head. I would prefer if they kept these separate, or even as different pieces on the one track, rather than jump from one to the other. Now, as an example, “Der stille mond” (Silent world?) has a really nice laidback intro but you just know it’s going to explode in death metal madness … and there it goes. Makes no sense to me and hurts my ears, the sudden transition. Meh. Once might be seen as clever, bold. Every other track? That's just lazy or unimaginative.
I can’t even divert myself by concentrating on the lyrics, as I don’t speak or understand German, so I’m left to listen to the sudden shifts in each track, rolling my eyes
--- see? There I go! --- as each slow part succumbs to a fast, or each fast slows down to be sped up again before the track ends. This does not mean the guys are not good musicians: they are, really good. But I’m not used to things changing this dramatically and this suddenly. Panopticon know how to do it. Mondstille, in my admittedly very limited opinion, do not.
Title track has a nice melody to it but generally speaking it’s more of the same with not too much in the way of a change; it is an instrumental, and seems to keep, for once, the same basic tempo and mood throughout, which is nice. The closer is also an instrumental, lovely piano with the violin coming in to accompany it as “Erwachen…” brings down the curtain.
TRACKLISTING
1. Ich hab geträumt ...
2. Mein inner Sturm
3. Im Trauerhain
4. Zeitenwandrer
5. Die Seele frei
6. Flammend
7. Sehnsucht versus Leben
8. Ich, der Pan
9. Der stille Mond
10. Seelenwund
11. Träumers Flucht
12. Erwachen …
This album is odd. There’s a lot to like about it, and my own complaints notwithstanding, the harsh jarring of I guess death metal with softer, almost classical music is really refreshing. It’s just that every track does something similar and after a while you get bored with it. I said at the beginning that Mondstille had said the next album would be their last. If it’s constructed the same way as this one, then I won’t mourn their passing.
But the potential for greatness is, or was, there. If they only had made it more interesting and a little less predictable after three or four tracks, leading to boredom and a general lack of desire to see the album through, which I did, but I was glad when it was over.