I just realized, when doing the review that I knew Angmar when I saw they were previously signed to Northern Silence, a label I've been working with for years. This French trio was formed by Hemreich (guitars, piano & vocals) in 2002. These guys having sharing stages with greats like: Negura Bunget, Kampfar, Vreid, Enslaved and Nydvind amongst others. The band has recently released their second effort on German label, Ketzer.
Angmar is a very good black metal band that can compose interesting music. Perhaps not the adventurous type, still their take is very tasty. They often have fast tempos and the furious black metal genre, without being rigidly stuck into that that mold. Angmar knows that various paces and mood exist as well, and they are all very able to create emotional music too. This album maintains a good level of melodiousness by including, on a frequent basis, pleasant harmonies in the background. This does not prevent having clean and distorted arpeggios from doing front row appearances. Their music reflects a certain melancholy in many instances, while their clean chant can only be described as epic. Speaking of which, two compositions, the title track and "Perdition", are long lasting pleasures clocking in at twelve and twenty minutes; those are my favorites. One more nice point to mention are the vocals of this trio is that all of them can sing. The main rasps are even decipherable, while being discrete or desperate. Decipherable as well are the bass runs, which have a bit of a progressive edge. Too bad the drum kit is buried somewhat in the background and sounds dry in the fast parts.
This album is an all around pleasant offering from a French black metal horde.
Track listing:
1.Zurück In Die Unterwelt
2. Stabat Mater
3. Perdition
4. Unborn Of The Ancient Times
5. 13čme Ręve
6. Asthénie
7. Lachrimae Mundi
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