Split Review: Black Autumn / The Mountan King - Rauhnacht MMXX (2021)

Picture Credit: Black Autumn / The Mountain King
Artwork: Steffen Albrecht

Black Autumn / The Mountain King - Rauhnacht MMXX
Release Date: February 14, 2021
Label: Cursed Monk Records
Format: CD / Digital
Length: 24:53
Genre: Doom Metal / Post Metal

This year, we can enjoy a very special Valentine's Day gift. It is the "Rauhnacht MMXX" Split EP by Dortmund's Black Autumn and Mainz' The Mountain King - two one-person armies of atmospheric, dark and intense music. "Rauhnacht" is a German word that could be translated to "harsh night", but actually the "Rauhnacht" (or "Rauhnächte" in plural) describes the twelve nights from December 25 to January 6. Those stormy and cold nights allegedly forecast the weather of the following year, as the legend says. Black Autumn has released four "Rauhnacht" EPs since 2014, which you can listen to on Bandcamp (you can find the link below). This year's release is the first "Rauhnacht" Split EP though.

A-Side: Black Autumn
Length: 12:08
Origin: Dortmund, Germany


Michael Krall, also know as Black Autumn, claims the first two tracks with ice cold Post Metal and Doom. The sonic experience resembles a steady and frosty wind in a winter night. The sound creates a steady but lumbering movement. Thus, you can imagine through a meadow covered in deep snow, looking for protection from the hostile weather when listening to the A-Side. Between the heavy riffs there are some reprieves in which the cold is even more present. It is a inhospitable environment, Black Autumn describes in these instrumental twelve minutes. But the sonic narrative is defined by the urge to go on and to not give up.

B-Side: The Mountain King
Length: 12:45
Origin: Mainz, Germany


As doomy, but a little less cold is the B-Side on which The Mountain King presents his two songs. Eric McQueen keeps the narrative of the "Rauhnacht" moving at a similar tempo. As the vocals begin, the Post Metal ends though. Instead, the apocalyptic scenario receives a scratchy Blackgaze complexion. The sounds make you dive deep into a dark sphere of unknown origin. This journey into the realms of unconsciousness leads into a calm but forsaken place where time stands still. This is musicked via Funeral Jazz à la Goddess Limax Black or Taumel. Has the march through ice and storm ended at the arming interior of a bar? Are we awake? Are we alive?


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fresh Mango: February 17, 2022

News: HOL - Bones (2021)

Mango Playlist Updates: February 05, 2022