Rattenfänger ‘Geisslerlieder’
Album Review By Adam McCann
Dark Essence Records/Death Metal
It has been some time since Rattenfänger last graced us with any sort of release. The Ukrainian death metal outfit which features members of Drudkh, Blood of Kingu , Hate Forest and Dark Ages last released their debut studio album ‘Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum’ in 2012 and last year, Rattenfänger returned with their sophomore album ‘Geisslerlieder’.
Although there has been a lapse of 7 years, Rattenfänger pick up like no time has passed at all with ‘Geisslerlieder’ and this album unfolds exactly as the listener expects. Rattenfänger keep that old school death metal sound going, delivering brutal vocal growls alongside driving riffs and relentless drumming and just like the previous album, all the lyrics are presented and sung in Latin which continues to give Geisslerlieder a dark and bone crunching sound. Through this, comparisons can easily be made to Drudkh, Blood of Kingu and Dark Ages, but there is something a little more nuanced here, having all the dark majestic appeal of the likes of Celtic Frost, Asphyx and Bolt Thrower, particularly through tracks such as ‘Les Bons Hommes’, ‘Funis Coronat Opus’ and ‘De Laude Flagellorum’.
‘Geisslerlieder’ is an album which may have passed many by last year having only been released in December, but this is an opportunity to go and check this album out, for fans of old-school sounding death metal, it is the genre done properly and because of it, ‘Geisslerlieder’ will not disappoint.
Rating : 84/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
