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Review Summary: Endstille return with their 5th CD, the best produced one yet, and continue on their career of old school inspired black metal. With their 5th release Endstille continue along their path of aggressive, relentless black metal in an old school vein. The band consists of bass, drums, guitar, and vocals, leaving out keyboards and instead using the production to add atmosphere to the music. The production on this cd is definitely the best it's been on an Endstille cd. The style of music (heavy) just demands a lot of low end support, and on cds like Dominanz (which had great riffing) one of the only things that was missing was the proper production. The music is no longer as trebly as one remembers it on previous cds, everything is more rounded and smoother, but still as aggressive as ever.
The most common comparisons to this band are often Marduk and Gorgoroth. I think these are fair enough, since Endstille reminds quite nicely of Gorgoroths years with Pest, and Marduks earlier riffing style. There is still a nice unique sound to Endstille, probably derived mainly from the phrasing of the vocals, which are a pretty spaced out, with phrases often having several seconds between one another in the verses. The guitars also blend a lot better, probably due to the fact that one guitarist has to cover the lines live, so there is usually only a harmony or over-dub to the main guitar part, but rarely ever an independent line. It should also be noted that for all purposes the guitars might as well only have the three lowest strings on them, since there are no melody lines in this music, and definitely no lead work.
So this sounds pretty average so far, what with Gorgoroth and Marduk comparisons and fairly basic guitar work. But this album has more intensity than any previous albums, with powerful vocals, precise drumming, and heavy bass lines, and tight guitar work. The band works well to create an atmosphere of being surrounded by chaos and destruction, and the war imagery and themes (*though they are not political*) are also well represented in the music and lyrics. The band doesn't ever let up with any breaks on this album, no isolated guitar riffs, no drum breaks, just a consistent assault. So it still sounds like this might be a bit dull with little variation and a monotone style, so allow me to explain the music in a more detailed manor.
The guitar is some of the most interesting tremolo based riffing I have heard in black metal. It's not based on half steps like most black metal is, but rather on a balance between harmony and dissonance. There are no out of key notes, but at the same time, the harmonies do clash with one another since notes besides the implied chords triad are used. Basically, in less technical terms, the guitars have a great pattern of slightly clashing and then pleasingly (though almost not noticeably) resolving into a more comfortable harmony. The drumming also doesn't just blast away as fast as possible (which is quite annoying, see Marduk's Panzer Division Marduk for details) but uses basic snare and hi-hat patterns while using the bass drum to lock in with the bass and guitar. There are still blast beats, but they are at mid paced tempos, and do not fall into the "norsecore" category.
The second half of the album is where the intensity of the vocals also picks up to a very enjoyable level. With "No Heaven Over Germany" the vocals assume much more prominent part in the music, with a fuller sound. Somehow the first has vocals that are a bit too random for me, they are almost too spread out over the music, which makes the structure hard to hear. The second half of the album somehow feels more comfortable with the vocals employed more effectively. The lyrical themes have to do with war (as one can infer from the cover), anti-christianity, and the bands personally philosophies. I recommend picking up the CD not just mp3s since the booklets usually contain some lyrics and interesting war photographs (WWI and WWII). It is also generally recommended by me to listen to this CD over ***ty mp3 quality which is 320 kbps at best, unless you have a loseless mp3 converter. Good sound quality really makes a difference here, as opposed to most black metal which has poor production to begin with.
Pros
-The same aggressive style as always
-Great production
-Riffing is interesting
Cons
-Somewhat monotonous
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Good review. Not my usual cup of tea but this seems interesting.
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So when using the term "Old School" to describe the style of a black metal band, is it really just a euphemism for "shitty production, sloppy riffs, and lack of ideas"? That has been my experience, at least.This Message Edited On 11.07.07
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Did you read the review at all? I went over the production and riffing style. Old school means rudimentary but necessarily sloppy or bad production.
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ha ha, yeah, I read the whole review... and then I found some samples, and "old school" meant what I thought it meant.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
If you think this is bad production then I think Black Metal isn't for you, and there's no way I see how there is sloppy riffing here. I can give you "lack of ideas" based purely on it being an opinion.
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You're right, the "conventional" black metal isn't for me. I like the bands and the albums that always have people fighting about whether it's black metal or not... Cradle of Filth, Graveworm, Dimmu Borgir, Mayhem (but only Grand Declaration and Chimera)... Emperor's first album is as close as I get to what is considered real black metal, and the original production was bad, the remastered is ok.This Message Edited On 11.07.07
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I see, well I can see where you're coming from now. 
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The review was good though... it helped me to figure out that this wouldn't be something I'd want to look into... voted finally.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Thanks, as long as you can get a good idea of what the music is like I've done my job.
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Great review dude. Endstille is awesome, I'm gonna check out this album.
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Okay, I like what I hear.
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great review how does this compare to Navigator? its the only endstille ive listened to, and I though it pretty meh (repetitivity was the main flaw for me).
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i'm not a huge fan of this band, theyre alright.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
In regard to a Navigator comparison it's still pretty repetitive, though the songs on this CD (in general) have better guitar work imo. The mixing also is a step better than previously. You might give this a shot, but I think if you think Navigator was meh, then there isn't really a lot of things that are different enough to change your mind on this CD.
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Wow, lots of Black Metal reviews today! And I must add a finely written review at that! Yet another black metal band I need to check out, fuck!
I like the bands and the albums that always have people fighting about whether it's black metal or not... Cradle of Filth, Graveworm, Dimmu Borgir, Mayhem
Me too, they seem to conjure up the silliest and funniest arguments ever!This Message Edited On 11.08.07
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I like how deaf some kids on this site are. To be unsure as to whether or not a band sounds similar the pioneering bands of a genre is just silly.This Message Edited On 11.08.07
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To be unsure as to whether or not a band sounds similar the pioneering bands of a genre is just silly.
Thank you^^^^^ When it comes down to it, a good band sounds unique and not like an imitator, to state the obvious further!
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Me too, they seem to conjure up the silliest and funniest arguments ever Especially Cradle and Dimmu Borgir. I don't get into it about Cradle because they've changed so much that their newest album basically is metalcore with keyboards... but Dimmu, if I'm in the mood I'll argue a little.
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:lol: any Cradle Of Filth is the furthest thing from metalcore ever.
[quote=the_wizard]Thank you^^^^^ When it comes down to it, a good band sounds unique and not like an imitator, to state the obvious further![/quote]
:lol: clearly
Anton: I still like Navigator more, but this album is freaking ballin. Your review honestly made me get it.This Message Edited On 11.09.07
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any Cradle Of Filth is the furthest thing from metalcore ever. ha ha, well, my experience with the latest CD by them is minimal since it was such crap, but when I heard it back when it came out, it seemed like they were headed that direction...
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