Heimdalls Wacht – Nichtorte (2012)

Highly melodic and equally melancholic are the first words that come through our mind when thinking about Heimdalls Wacht’s latest release “Nichtorte”. With a heavy emphasis on the melodic side of things, Germany’s Heimdalls Wacht delivers a good dose of Pagan Black Metal in the 12 tracks presented on this release, good enough to be one of the best we’ve heard in quite a while.

After the traditional intro, the riffing onslaught begins with “Maelstrom”, a very Black Metal oriented track with catchy sections. The drumming is very fast paced, but the ethereal atmospheric elements here and there are what makes this track standout. Things finally start to move into darker and more melancholic territories with songs like “Ignis fatuus” and “Die Einsamkeit des Gestaltenwandlers”. The melody achieve by the songs powerful riffs is amazing and completely destructive.

On a more straight-forward manner, “Waldeinsamkeit” and “Die Buerde der Schande” delivers a more typical BM sound but with a few elements here and there that sets the apart from all the vanilla BM bands out these days. “Das Treffen der Bergtrolle” feels like something that ‘acoustic’ Ulver (from the Bergtatt album) would have done back in the day. Our favorite track is the monumental “Der Zug der Wolkenfrauen”, a 10 minute epic that will blow you away. The buildup and guitar work is very similar to something that Alcest could have made (when they were more Black Metal). The vocals are just brilliantly hellish, making them one of the best elements that Heimdalls Wacht has going for them.

Overall, “Nichtorte” is actually a pretty good album filled with excellent guitar riffs and melodic sections. The band’s sound is very well crafted and while not 100% original, is good enough to stand on its own. We enjoyed most of the tracks in this release and the epic melodic/melancholic sections that each of them featured. “Nichtorte” is highly recommended for fans of Pagan Black Metal that like melody over brutality.

Release: April 10th, 2012

Country: Germany