Hexenwald / Todestriebe

The split of Hexenwald with Todestriebe although it is a new release, it doesn’t contain new material. Hexenwald come from Germany, they consist of three members, they exist since 2001 and they have released two demos, two split and two full length albums. Here they present to us five compositions two of which are new while the rest three tracks are older, one with a different mix, one rehearsal track and one taken by the second demo. Todestriebe come from Russia, they were formed in 2007, they consist of three members and they have released one EP, one full length album and this split. When I saw that Todestriebe participate in this split, I was quite impatient to receive it because I wanted to listen to new material by them a lot as their recent full length album had made a really good impression. To my great surprise and disappointment I discovered that the tracks of Todestriebe are in fact the album they released.

Hexenwald play typical German Black Metal with Thrash elements with a few of Heavy and Doom passages. Their riffs have much variety both concerning the rhythm and the style, that is we’ll find from slow Doom speed up to fast – chaotic while concerning the style, we’ll find the typical, fast Black Metal riffs combined nicely with the numerous Thrash influences and the Doom passages. The guitars are harsh and raw, played with passion delivering the feeling well. The bass has rather boring lines, repetitive that they just follow the rhythm without anything special, while the filling that they do to the sound almost doesn’t exist. The drums are very powerful and interesting and played quite well. The vocals are harsh Black Metal vocals, they fit to the sound and give quite a lot of passion and power. The big disadvantage of the material of Hexenwald is the production and the mix. The production is very harsh without any depth, so that the sound is very dirty. The mix also is bad because it is like it doesn’t exist and the sound that comes out is like the sound of the rehearsal. The lyrics are written in English but they aren’t contained in the cd.

Todestriebe in their part of the split, they offer the nine tracks contained in the album “…Scream, Prey, Beg…” and they play a very nice Heavy/Thrash/Black. I call it so because surely all those three genres co-exist in the music of Todestriebe. In the riffs we find almost everything: fast Black, American Thrash, classic Heavy, heavy Death passages, even parts that remind of Paradise Lost. The important is that the band has achieved to combine all these directions and influences perfectly while at the same time the tracks’ structure is very good so that the listener don’t lose his interest. The guitars are clean and deliver the compositions with much power and quality. The bass can’t be heard clearly but it fills the sound well. Very good job has been done in the drums’ lines, they have variety in playing, they give even more power to the compositions. The vocals are harsh Black Metal vocals which remind somehow of Satyr but they are expressive and have a personal element. The production is clean and bassy, it puts out a solid sound. In the mix the guitar and the vocals are a little louder, so much as it should have been and the final result is good. The lyrics are written in English and they are antichristian, profane and full of hate, not anything special.

Generally the two bands have some common elements and to be in the same album isn’t inconvenient. The part of Hexenwald maybe to have more interest for the band’s fans, while for the rest it has nothing more to offer anything more than thirty minutes of good Black Metal. The part of Todestriebe I think that it is more interesting because they have done a very good job musically that it will be appreciated by many due to all those styles that it combines. If you haven’t found the full length of Todestriebe, this is a chance to buy it and by the way you can also listen to Hexenwald’s side.