Review Summary: Breaking the firmament apart.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: Neue Deutsche Härte is not hurting for bands. However, Erdling’s USP is their theming and the execution of that theming. NDH is a subgenre that borrows from industrial metal and EBM. These musicians must operate atop a cold and calculated infrastructure. There’s rarely room, thus, for overarching motifs or exploratory lyricism. Rammstein, for example, writes morbid yet humorous songs about violence and sex. They write in the abstract and border on intellectualism. The group’s live shows revolve around each album cycle, yet lack a consistent, defining concept overall.
This is where Erdling distinguishes itself. Their shtick is the melding of mysticism with cold synths and hard guitar riffs. It’s like a game or movie that blends sci-fi and fantasy. This allows the group to have their cake and eat it too. There is an accessibility and immediacy to their work. They use fantastical lyricism to tackle common feelings and experiences. This elevates their art, and it brings a paradoxically dark warmth to what they play.
Take fan favorite, “Dickicht.” At base, this is the standard “I’m a badass” song. Yet the song’s protagonist refers to himself as a product of “storm and suffering,” surviving via a “dark power” in a godless world. There is a confidence in this that strikes deeply and immediately. That certainty feeds off a hammering main riff, a rhythm section that refuses to let up, and a huge chorus.
Speaking of the sonics, let’s address how the music itself plays into all this. The most distinguishing piece of the aural puzzle here is Neil Freiwald’s vocals. The standard fare here is deep operatics * la Till Lindemann or the barking growl of Alexx Wesselsky. Neill, however, melds smooth, deep cleans with both a groove-metal-ish bark and a downright black-metal howl. That howl is more obvious on later records, but when it shows here (the bridge of “Dickicht”), it’s threatening. He injects more melody into his delivery than some others in this genre, and it helps him and the band stand out.
The rest of the soundscape, though, deserves attention. The guitar riffs are not reinventing the wheel, but they are so much fun. The main riff in the title track is bouncy, frenetic, and a tad heavier than you might expect. “Schattenland,” one of the album’s goth rock tracks, is propelled by a simple yet effective piece. The rhythm section—especially the bass—adds both propulsion and texture to moments that may otherwise be boring (verses of power ballad “Im Horizont”). Speaking of texture, the synths and electronic elements are the icing on the cake. The chorus of “Im Horizont” soars on the wings of a symphonic section. Closer “Es Ist Zeit” kicks off with a hauntingly beautiful blend of melancholic electronics and a choir.
For all this, though, this is still the band’s debut.
Aus den Tiefen is glaringly insecure in its construction. Every single song follows the same pattern: intro-verse-chorus-verse-short bridge-chorus-outro. Usually, these bridges don’t add anything new to the song or they’re too short to leave much impact anyway. Later albums find Erdling experimenting with guest vocalists, guitar solos, danceable synth lines, etc. This is the simplest—and least interesting—batch of Erdling’s brand.
Nonetheless, those in the market for NDH shouldn’t pass this up due to the 2016 release date. It is derivative—as a later album in a sub-genre almost always is—but individualistic in its own right. Those seeking a heavier and more fantastical take on NDH should look no further.
