ASENHEIM REVIEW
ASENHEIM - ELBENBLUT
I know not what it is about immersing yourself within the words of literature. Perhaps it's a contradiction, for I know that it is the world into which the soul that seeks reprieve journeys, but what remains a mystery is, when the soul enters the gates and beyond the pages, what is the quest? Do we envision ourselves as the very heroes or see ourselves within the villains? Do we place a fragment of our selfsame into the pages, so much so that we transform the world within ink to surround us and, in turn, become us? Whatever it may be, the submersion of the consciousness into the art of words and, in turn, sound is an experience unique to us yet shared by all, common yet ineffable.
“Elbenblut” by Asenheim can be looked upon as literature evolving into the very words that gave it life, for the ink now becomes the ichor that flows like a river, its pages now become the flesh that is battle-hardened and scarred, and the story becomes the spirit that grants life to this body. Emerging from the magick of Atmospheric Black Metal, taking on the elements of bands such as Summoning, Falkenbach, and WitcheR, Asenheim forges their own saga, where the mind becomes infused into the ink of sound, and onto these lands, we are placed into its soil as we reap an experience ineffable to the soul.
Into the pages where we descend and from the stories told our minds ascend, song is often a trait that latches itself onto any tale woven, for if triumph should exist, then let the trumpets ring, which announce victory. Should defeat befall a soul, let the reed sing its ballad in somber lament. For it is like the guitars which shift their tone, reflecting the climate of the atmosphere, exhibiting a myriad of emotions that mimic the story as it unfolds, where ebbs and flows become the tale’s lifeline, which can be traced by the senses to evoke unto it the spirit that permeates.
Taking shape in a thin, steel-like spirit, dense in its notes yet light in its movement, the guitars become the rhythmic hills that are traced, for they climb and gallop while also ascending into climax. “Elbenblut I” is an attention where its main melody charges through the atmosphere in a galloping cadence, majestic in its spirit, triumphant in its tempo, yet it is in the tempered moments that its body is magnified through the slow-paced moments, with the constant riffing then launching back into it with a lengthened melody. This is a trait which flows into the other tracks, whereby melody becomes the crux, shifting its passages, flowing in unison with the synths which complement its patterns while also stippling its current of movement.
It is one aspect to show the valiant spirit in the guitars, where the instrumental virtuoso is apparent. However, its true nature of emotion arrives in the somber portions, where melody once again shifts, but this time to a slower pace, releasing tranquility through its resonance. “Ein letzter Atemzug” demonstrates this, where the track itself, while harsh in tone, feels as though it is an ode to lament. However, the guitars themselves are granted a chance to breathe, where every note etched in a slower motion is felt, its depth becoming more pronounced through the chords, in turn giving way to the drumming and vocals.
As we transform our minds to become the very character that inhabits the stories, we inherit the very woes and burdens. For it is as two heartbeats which pulsate unanimously. In turn, we feel the strife as our senses climb the cragged mountains alongside them. Such pulsation becomes the drums. Conversely, like the guitars which etch the spirit from whence the atmosphere exhales, the drumming becomes the internal resonance felt by a soul where calamities are encountered, for through crossroads, the dangers that may lurk are shaped into every beat, carving out the pulsating nerve which becomes this tale.
In the same reverberation as the guitars, the drumming becomes another extension of expressing emotion in a grandiose way, for a variation of patterns is fostered through the percussion. While the guitars and vocals adopt a raw ambience to their expulsion, the drumming here is more polished, where its timbre, in turn, is discernible. Such as on the track “Ein Stern,” the percussion takes on a more sauntered approach, slow beats and calculated fills, and even the fluttering movements of the double kicks are more subdued.
However, this doesn't represent the album in a negative light. Rather, it is these moments which are contained that showcase the album's volatile state, allowing it to exhale, exist between the guitars’ melodies, while also giving room for the vocals to wrap around it. In addition, the percussion also carries a natural cadence, able to morph between the slow-paced movements and the pummeling motions. It never seems to be jagged or haphazard. Rather, both energies coalesce into each other. For instance, “Das Juwel von Erebor” is a track which balances these shifting tempos, ranging from a mid-tempo to a more upbeat folk-ish rhythm as it accentuates the harsher vocals.
As we delineate the words which make up the universe that we wish to traverse, we become sojourners of these lands. Though the tale is written from start to end, a voice remains which chronicles this, a voice that ascends to victories gleaned and descends to the loss we have suffered, a voice so fluid, it is like a cold and distant wind, changing the melody of the atmosphere wherever it may exist, as it moves amongst the trees and grass. So too do the vocals act in their invocation, for this is the tongue of the story come to life, the very speech of the ink.
A certain magick exists as though the vocals command the elements of hoarfrost, for the cadence of the voice emits a frigid tone, yet at the same time it is thin and slick in texture, however also serrated. For it is like a splintered blade, where its shards still bite in the sharpness of cold steel. Rendered by the production, the vocals undergo a transformation which is fluid in its animation, yet also graceful in its abrasive resonance, for they can be likened to a spirit which phases through the musical elements, yet their aura still lingers after their passing. Like cobwebs that adorn a castle wall, their presence hangs in dread, yet their motion is airy.
“Wo die Schatten drohen” is a track attesting to the vocals’ tundra spirit, for the movement of their patterns shifts in tandem with the guitars, snaking alongside them, especially in the main riff where both enunciate in the same language of motion, weaving a dialogue between both energies. Conversely, the vocals also exhibit a decrepit nature to them, naught in a manner which is negative. Rather, the words exhaled feel ancient, weathered, as though they curl and hook at their ending consonants. “Wächter der Nacht” explores this notion, wherein the vocals ride the groove-laden portions of the guitars and drums in a folk-like dissonance, but at the same time, the motion they adopt feels like it's a spell being manifested. Through utterance, the words feel as though both lips and hands work in tandem to craft such a curse. In the same vein of carving a spell, virulent in nature, the clean vocals evoke a contrasting shade, for through their ethereal presence, the harsh vocals become more potent and raised in texture, yet also add more depth to the album.
Remove the garments that tether the soul to this realm, and from literature fashioned into sound, let the energy of Asenheim be your Virgil that guides you into the chapters where you can transfigure your being to hold the sword which slays your own dragon, or become an entity that heralds the shadow to consume all. For whatever is desired, the mind becomes malleable like the page onto which an epic is penned.
9/10
