I had never heard of WALLFAHRER before this promo arrived. That may be partly by design. Since the self-released debut Anthologie Der Abkehr in April 2018, the German project has kept its identity to itself. One anonymous person is credited with all instruments and vocals, and nothing more is given away. The output has been steady all the same: Rattenritual in 2019, Lightbringer-Leidbringer in 2020, Den Menschen So Fern in 2022 and In Dubio Pro Misanthropia in 2024. Knochenkabinett, out since August 7, is the sixth full-length, and like the debut it is self-released.
The title translates as "cabinet of bones", and the statement that came with the album spells out the idea: "The search for recognition, the addiction to vanity, the striving for validation. In the end, nothing remains but bones and dust. No monument, no praise, no homage." The cover shows a vaulted hall hung with garlands of skulls, with a chandelier made of bones at its center and a hooded figure walking toward a doorway that opens onto a forest. It took me back to the Kostnice in Kutná Hora, the Sedlec Ossuary, which I visited about 20 years ago and where a chandelier of human bones hangs in the chapel.
WALLFAHRER usually get filed under black metal. To my ears this is closer to blackened death, but I don't want to get stuck on technicalities: it's great music. The recording quality is excellent, and so is the song structure. I love the balance between guitars, drums and vocals. The vocals lead the mix. They are all black-metal screams, with no clean singing anywhere, and they come through clear and loud instead of drowning under the instruments. Even in the most intense parts every instrument stays readable, and nothing turns into a muddy cacophony.
Three songs stood out for me. The title track sits on the fast side and carries a catchy chorus melody. "Festung Einsamkeit" opens with an emotional acoustic intro before distorted guitars come in at a slow tempo, and it closes on a calmer ending. Right after it comes "Interludium Osseum", the shortest track on the record at three minutes. It works as an instrumental interlude, and as I read it, its Latin title points back to the bones on the cover. "Wir Waren Das Volk" runs past ten minutes and has a lot of emotion and power in it. Its clean guitar passages reminded me of DRUDKH.
My one complaint concerns the cover. It isn't something that catches your eye, and music this good deserves better eye candy. At 59 minutes, Knochenkabinett is a very strong album, and I'm glad I got to hear it. For me WALLFAHRER deserve as much attention as their compatriots KANONENFIEBER and DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT.
★★★★½ 9/10
WALLFAHRER - Knochenkabinett (full album stream):
Follow WALLFAHRER
- Bandcamp: https://wallfahrer.bandcamp.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wallfahrer616
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAp_0Ub74SNAUneA-kvaFnQ
Promo provided by Metal Message.