Germ – Loss (2012)

After Germ’s impressive debut “Wish”, released earlier in March 2012 by Eisenwald as well, we are totally blown away at how much a band’s sound can mature and such a short time and with “Loss”, this one-man project delivers 36-minutes of lush and deranged Black Metal with countless influences and a huge atmospheric component. Lead by the Aussie Tim Yatras, better known for his work in Austere, Grey Waters and Woods of Desolation, this new project brings forth an amazing musical proposal that countless bands have danced around, but never quite got it this perfect.

Moving a bit away from the psycho-sexual electronics of “Wish”, “Loss” takes things to a whole new dimension and produces some of the best atmospheric passages we have ever heard, with some brilliantly introduced electronic splashes. Opening with the heartfelt “My Only Hope”, we get very solemn vocals and excellent mixture of piano with atmospheric elements that nicely culminates very dramatically, lush, and brutal.

Having just warmed-up, the extreme epic “So Lonely, Dead Lonely” continues this release with one of the most impressive tracks we have EVER heard. It is very rare that a song gets as much replay action as this one has had from us. Clocking around 10 minutes, this epic track features everything we love about the band and then some. Brilliant atmosphere, hellish screams, crushing drums and pummeling guitars set the musical background perfectly for a very chilling track. With some brilliant tempo changes, use of electronic elements, and totally normal clean vocals, this song can be considered perfect in our book.

After nearly creaming our pants with the album’s second track, we nearly forget that there are four more to go. “Only When Every Timepiece in the World is Smashed” parts I and II keep the killer atmosphere going with some futuristic sounding electronic sound surrounding extreme BM drumming and a combination of harsh, clean, and distorted vocals. The clean vocals remind us a lot of Grey Waters (another band Tim used to sing for). On the second part of this song we get an acoustic track that feels more like something you would whip out on a bonfire to score some chicks, but still feels right on this very unique and weird EP.

After the super catchy and almost dance-party anthem (we mean this in a good way) “Cold Grey Dawn”, we have the very serious and sadness infusing instrumental titled “Loss”. Showcasing great musical composition skills and a high amount of creativity, Germ has managed to very quickly progress from a killer debut album, to an even more impressive sophomore EP with “Loss”. If you are like us and you are always looking for fresh new things, do not hesitate to check Germ and their two releases so far.

Release: October 15th, 2012 (Europe) / October 30th, 2012 (North America)

Genre: Post-Black Metal / Ambient / Experimental

Country: Australia