Release Date: 6 February 2026
Song Count: 8
Duration: 41 minutes, 5 seconds
Rating: 8.1/10
Description:
Third one incoming (with more to arrive, as there have been more releases I've found - it seems the 6th of the month really was one hell of a day for music!), and today we approach the works of this unique extreme metal conglomerate known as Kanonenfieber. This newly emerged anonymous act from Bamberg, Germany consists primarily of one member, "Noise", recording and making every song in the studio versions, and inviting over guest instrumentalists for the live performances, with the unique gimmick of all of the musicians wearing face coverings and concealing their identities as they perform authentic metal songs centered around World War 1 and the horrors of warfare. Pulling from real-life diary entries of the era and similar direct sources, the band (?) has always put depicting its central themes accurately and vividly on center stage since its inception in 2020, and this third studio album of theirs, Soldatenschicksale, is no different on that front.
Blurring the lines between black and death metal with major pinches of melodicism, the record reflects the brutality of its subject matter both lyrically and instrumentally, with tight and militant drumming storming parallel to hooking guitars taking the primary lead and the guttural and raw roaring vocals in German acting out the themes, scenes and direct real-life excerpts and completing the main sonical cast of the album. Though similarities between songs are very much there, the lesser amount of tracks as well as the consistent switches in grooves, rhythms and such do a sufficient job at retaining interest, especially towards the ends of the album, and the melodic aspects, though not extraordinarily pronounced, nevertheless stand out as a substantial factor elevating the quality of the tracks.
What is especially noteworthy about not only this record, but Kanonenfieber as a whole, is the way they manage to bring in storytelling into their music, not only for those who understand the language they are performing in, but also for a wider audience - the use of sound effects, like e.g. submarine sonars and radars to indicate a maritime battle in "Kampf und Sturm", and the general structure of the tracks allows the listener to connect to what is being depicted on a level deeper than simply understanding it rationally. Though war and man-made destruction is far from untreaded territory in the world of metal music, the specifics of how this act approaches it as well as the emphasis on staying as faithful to real sources and materials as possible really sets Soldatenschicksale and its adjacent records apart as music that makes one not only hear the brutality and violence of it all, but also feel it.
I will admit that I tend to have a negative bias towards plenty of music in my native language, as the usage of German in music, especially when directed towards a non-German-speaking audience, tends to invoke a sort of visceral reaction - however, Kanonenfieber's works absolutely do not belong in that category, and if anything, are enhanced by the fact that the impact and nuances of their lyrics and what they're conveying aren't lost in translation. This, combined with the genuinely impressive craftsmanship leading to the overall output being quite qualitative and engaging, leaves one with a solid impression as the last notes fade away after 41 minutes. This is undeniably an incredibly strong work from the act overall, and I cannot wait to see what else Noise has got in store in terms of music, both in the past and future.