It never fails: whenever some artists seek to broaden, expand, or diversify a style of music, purists will insist that they are watering it down and tell you what they think an authentic representation of that style sounds like. There has been plenty of that attitude regarding black metal: purists who insist that
Dimmu Borgir and
Cradle of Filth are not legitimate black metal artists and claim that any band that uses keyboards consistently isn't really black metal. And typically, black metal purists will point you in the direction of head-crushing bands that steer clear of symphonic black metal -- in other words, a band like Germany's
Endstille. Anyone who prefers a more melodic and nuanced approach to black metal will not find it on
Endstilles Reich, which goes right for the jugular and makes no effort to accommodate symphonic black metal tastes.
Endstilles Reich preaches to the choir, drawing on influences like
Gorgoroth and
Marduk (two examples of bands that black metal purists respect) but without the Scandinavian elements.
Endstille are from Germany, after all -- and instead of employing the Norwegian or Swedish imagery that is common in black metal, they include a few German words and phrases (although the vast majority of their lyrics are in English). This 2006 recording is not about musicality or nuance; it is about viciousness and brute force, and
Endstille provide a nasty, corrosive program of rasp vocals (lead singer Iblis is ultra-abrasive and proud of it), blastbeats, and crushing guitars.
Endstilles Reich is quite predictable -- after the first few songs, you've pretty much heard it all -- and the 48-minute disc doesn't do this type of thing as well as albums by
Gorgoroth or
Marduk. Nonetheless,
Endstille have their admirers, who will appreciate the sheer viciousness that they bring to this decent, if one-dimensional, CD. ~ Alex Henderson