Even though this writer has a particular fondness for this depressive, Burzum-ic Black Metal stuff, there is something not quite right about German one man act Wedard’s latest EP ‘Eiskrieg’. As is the norm with these types of bands Wedard has quite a hefty back catalogue of releases spanning his five year history, including four demos, two full lengths, two splits and now an EP of essentially the same ambient Black Metal that most one man bands seem to take on board.
With typically poor musicianship and vocals that sound like a cat meowing rather than a man screaming forth his inner agonies unto the world, ‘Eiskrieg’ just doesn’t sound convincing enough to have the affect this kind of music should, sending little but bored sighs coursing through your body. It has to be said, however, that parts of ‘Eiskrieg’ do produce momentary elements of real sadness such as on second track ‘Der Weg in das Reich der Kälte’, where Wedard build on a somber clean guitar intro into a mid-paced ‘Hvis Lyset Tar Oss’- styled atmosphere that works well when compared to the rest of this mostly second rate material.
Maybe I’m just sick of hearing the same sound reproduced by a million Black Metal ‘bands’ that use the ‘it doesn’t matter that I cant play an instrument, it is all about the atmosphere’ excuse to cover up their incapability of producing music of any worth. Or maybe this is just a very poor attempt at creating music that should by rights send shivers running down your spine. Whatever the reason, this writer will stick to Veil, Silencer and Lyrinx to get his not-so-happy kicks.
