Self-released
https://rainerlandfermann.com/
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German vocalist and bass player Rainer Landfermann is known for his work with PAVOR, Bethlehem, and his own solo work. Featured on the album are ten dark and highly diverse songs that are pushing the boundaries of the extreme metal genre. You have dramatic low-frequency waves of bowed double basses, tenebrous choirs and somber jazz ballad parts harmoniously join blasting drums and grim avant-garde guitar riffs. The German album title translates to "My word in your darkness". "The album is about introspection, self-awareness, and - ultimately - about beauty:" says Rainer Landfermann, "its experience, appreciation, and sometimes, the painful loss of it."
Talk about something different! The vocals go from straight singing, growls to screaming that sounds like someone is being killed, and all in the space of every song. It kind of gets a bit much with it going on over and over again. Some parts remind me of Rammstein, some parts are pure noise, and some of it is just beautiful and sounds like something that you would find on a jazz album, and some like on a horror movie. The album jumps all over the place and even has some of the jazz-punk of Black Flag in places…so much to take in and very unclassifiable. Yes, it is metal, but it is so much more too. The album is available both as download and as an elaborately designed limited art book edition, for which Rainer Landfermann teamed up with Russian ballet photographer Daria Chenikova and model Anna Grigoryan, ballerina at the Stanislavsky Ballet in Moscow, who is also featured on the album cover. For each of the ten songs on the album, they created a gorgeous visualization of the theme and mood of the respective music and lyrics.
While not my cup of tea, this is an album that really takes chances and challenges the listener. I may not be a fan of most of this, but I can respect what he is doing and some of the music on here.
-Rick Ecker
