Skratte – Akt II: Des Wolfes Klagen

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From their EPK, “Thematically, “Akt II” gives a voice to the nature spirits and accompanies them on an emotional journey that takes them ever onwards, struggling and striving against the turmoil of today’s world. The album has eight songs, and “Offenbarung” is the first; a very short intro with piano and vocals. “Kältetod” is next. The song is spirited and has some melody. The clean vocals are baritone…think Ville Vallo. Harsh vocals keep it within the boundaries of Black Metal however, as the instruments pick up in audibility. “Wolfsklagen” begins with solemn clean guitars, and some singing leads. The vocals are emotive, and the sound depressive. There is a sharp transition to harsh vocals and a deeper sound. The back and forth from clean and harsh sounds is stark, and often without much notice.

“Als der letze Atem erstarb” is a short instrumental, featuring charming violin notes and some smooth acoustical guitars. “Videki Ballada” is a much longer song, beginning with harsh vocals and a slow, but somewhat jovial groove. From there, it gets a bit odd, with clucking sounds and rapped vocals. If nothing else, the man is inventive. But again, his transitions are very sharp and at times don’t make a lot of sense. “Spuk im Unterholz” is another very short song with a mix of clean vocals sung in German and some harsher utterances. “Der Waldgeister Tanz” is a beastly 15-minute song. Following a Folky entrance, Death vocals ensue, but the music remains fairly smooth at first. Transitions are all over the place, and it’s hard to find a central sound. I often complain about the opposite of this, so I need to keep his creativity in mind when taking in this lengthy song.

“Todgeweiht” closes the album. It might be the most concise song on the album with a central core. At least, it starts that way. Get ready for more grenades around every turn, however. Overall, the album dipped its feet in many different rivers, of various sizes, substances, and flow. Keep in mind that this is Folk Metal, which can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. When he wants to, he can display an excellent amount of musicianship. The varied nature of the songs should make me feel good, but it doesn’t. I can’t point to a central theme besides some real oddball stuff.

Songwriting: 3
Musicianship: 7
Memorability: 2
Production: 7