This time, I'm introducing a band that I stumbled across quite some time ago, but I only just got around to listening to their second album “Auf ferner Höhe steht er kahl...” ("It stands bare on distant heights..."). I'm talking about Triste Tage (Sad or dreary days) from East Frisia, a solo project by Draugr that has been around since 2022, through which he realizes his artistic ambitions. After a first sign of life in the form of an EP in 2022 (the two songs included there were also used on the debut album), the first full-length album “Und die Hörner des Sommers verstummten” ("And the horns of summer fell silent") was released the following year, before its successor recently saw the light of day. So you see that the factotum Skaugr, who relied on the support of guest musicians from Convictive, Asarhaddon, and ex-Eïs for vocals and drums on this work, seems to be a busy spirit.
But let's get to the music on this album. On four extra-long tracks, all of which exceed the ten-minute mark, Skaugr celebrates his vision of black metal that is at times melodic, melancholic, yet always raw, rough, and primeval. The album info sheet mentions inspiration from bands such as Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch, Helrunar, and the aforementioned Eïs, but these names should only serve as a rough starting point, as Triste Tage offer their own unique version, as far as this is possible within the restrictions of black metal.
The long songs skillfully alternate between speeds, with fast, traditional black metal parts alternating with more solemn mid-tempo parts or completely tranquil intervals carried only by a few guitar sounds, creating a certain dynamic so that the pieces never run the risk of becoming boring despite their excessive length. Especially the very quiet parts, accompanied only by a few undistorted guitar tones, remind me sometimes of the legendary creators of dark metal, Bethlehem.
The great strength of Triste Tage is that, despite all the variety and melancholy, they are still clearly rooted in the realm of traditional black metal and do not tend toward “post-” variations, which, although often objectively well done, usually cause me to become bored and disinterested sooner or later. The temporarily inserted female vocals by Nova (Convictive/Asarhaddon) also add a special flavor to the tracks. Personally, I particularly like the fast passages in the songs, and I think this change, in contrast to the much slower and, so to speak, more depressing debut album, has suited the band very well.
Also the artwork and other illustrations in the booklet by the well-known Timon Kokott underscore the bleakness of the album's theme: man-made decay, destruction, and alienation. Symbolic of this is the once-flourishing tree, which, after being cutted, is put to a new, dark purpose in the form of a gallows. In this sense, Triste Tage is the perfect soundtrack for these often seemingly dark times. Regardless of this, anyone who likes varied, melancholic yet traditional black metal should get their hands on this album in its delightful digipack.
