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Blogspot Days Revisited: Verdunkeln

Verdunkeln – “In die Irre”

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Over four years after its release, Verdunkeln’s Einblick in den Qualenfall remains one of the most unique interpretations ever of black metal (original writeup). See, for example, “In die Irre”, which takes three minutes and 49 seconds to reveal any black metal conventions (rasped vocals). Until then, it’s big, reverbed ’80s drums, springy clean tones, and Urfaustian singing. Deathrock is the vibe; for a more recent, less developed relative, see Atriarch.

Drums do make a difference. Instead of the usual blastbeat texture, we get Tommy Lee in a foul mood. The result is a cavernous atmosphere missing in most black metal. For years, Ván has put out strange, dense records that are called black metal, but which treat the term as a spirit, not a boundary. This is one example. It’s part of no trend and yields no controversy, and is thus probably condemned to obscurity. That’s fine. It would probably prefer that, anyway.

— Cosmo Lee

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Blogspot Days Revisited remembers highlights of Invisible Oranges’ first two years.

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Ván (CD, 2LP)

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