Vargsang – In the Mist of Night

Vargsang

In the Mist of Night

by Erika Kuenstler at 04 February 2015, 1:01 AM

It has been six long years since the world has heard anything from VARGSANG, the German Black Metal band. But with the release of their fourth full-length album “In the Mist of Night” in October last year, the band has shown that they are back with an offering so bloody and raw that there should be vegans protesting it.

Starting off with the sound a tolling bell, “The Roots of Hate” provides an menacing portent of the chaos soon to come, and when this flairs into a dirge-like chant, hairs on the back of your neck start to prickle. Yet this unease is quickly shattered, chased by a flurry of tremolo picked guitar passages, tumultuous drumming, and dark gravelly vocals, launching you fully into the pits of hell. The hauntingly ephemeral passages of “The Cosmic Gate” are absolutely spell-binding, taking you on a mystical journey through ethereal realms. Another excellent track is “Captured in the Dark”; this song has a slightly heavier keyboard sound than some of the other tracks, lending it an ominous atmosphere that rounds off the song superbly. The penultimate track “Begotten” is a rough and murky offering that makes you reminisce of the early days of ‘90s Black Metal, with the instrumentals making me feel like digging out the old INQUISITION. Things get taken down a notch in the final track “Chains of Life”. The searing melancholy of this track is oppressing, utterly crushing all hope and replacing all with a bleak unseeing despair. Whilst I could wax verbose about each of the tracks on this album, suffice it to say that “In the Mist of Night” is a hard-hitting and icy album that goes straight for the jugular.

Overall, this is an excellent album, and a must-listen for fans of the Raw Black Metal genre. What really impresses me the most about VARGSANG is the impeccable precision that infuses through every note of every song. They are the perfect proof that Black Metal can be raw as all hell and still manage to contain artfully crafted melodies that add so many new dimensions and facets to their music. The recording of the album has also struck a flawless balance between maintaining a raw and coarse feel whilst still having each instrument perfectly distinguishable and clear. VARGSANG have also outdone themselves in sticking to an Old School sound whilst still managing to give it a modern and timeless approach. In short, this is a skilful opus that was well worth the wait.