Release Date: 18 August 2005
Song Count: 7
Duration: 37 minutes, 9 seconds
Rating: 6.5/10
Description:
Song Count: 7
Duration: 37 minutes, 9 seconds
Rating: 6.5/10
Description:
Straight back to the depths of black metal, here we have Kriegsmaschine, a band from Kraków, Poland - and paradoxically carrying a German name - with their debut record Altered States of Divinity. About as stereotypically black metal as one can get as an act, with a brutal and unrelenting sound and themes of nihilism, darkness and anti-religion circling around, they have garnered a small but yet dedicated audience over their time since their resurgence in 2002 under their modern name. Prior to this, they were known as Death Frost, still making music, though much less is known about their tenure under the previous name than their present one.
Echoing shouts of venom and rebellion sound out above a relentless stream of metallic riffs and heavy distortion cycling through simple but effective progressions to create the quintessential blackened experience. The overarching effect of droning noise that marks the unforgiving nature of the genre it is under is thoroughly present here across the full album, so listening to it all in one go if one's ears and mind are untrained may thereby leave with a drained feeling. The brunt end of it that is possible to get in most adjacent set of tracks is spared here, however, due to the comparatively shorter duration of tracks, all of which falling into the 4-7 minute range bar for two - "Nihilation" at 9 minutes almost on the dot, and "Kerigma" spanning less than 2 and a half minutes.
The listening experience one gets or these 37 minutes is about as standard as black metal can get, which therefore makes one's enjoyment of it highly dependent on one's musical tastes and strokes regarding the style of music. For yours truly, while an excessive amount at once without majorly noticeable switches in musicality can bore out, and while I do carry a strong preference for melodic creativity being thrown into the mix, straight-edge death and black metal pieces like this can scratch a certain itch in one's brain and leave a positive impact if done right. Though there isn't loads to remark on with Altered States of Divinity, it is certainly a record able to bring forth a worthwhile listen, especially for those in need of a shorter album in terms of time duration.