Eisheilig

(Napalm)
by Scott Hefflon

There’s something somber and sexy about a deep voice singing in German. Eisheilig opens and closes their debut strongly, and they brush good points in their slow passing along the way, but this CD is definitely a mood thing to ride from beginning to end. When you have an hour to kill (so to speak) and want to brood, this might do the trick. Though the languid dreariness of it all (insert Gothic sigh here) is disrupted by experimentation in industrial and Goth metal (the Tristania-style stuff with strong guitar melody and male/female vocals), the general theme here is slow and sensuous. All the song titles are in German, so I’ll simply mention “Die Brücken,” the opener, which seems to have the dreary plod and mystic tinkling nicely balanced, the monolith guitars tempered by gently swaying piano, the rich German baritone layered as if talking to itself, the soft “Ohhhh” of angelic-sounding keyboards offering constant support. Like one of the less-complex Hypocrisy gems, without the eerie vocal coldness. And in German. The closing song is The Doors’ “Love Street” at about half the speed. It’s pretty good in that Type O-type way, meaning it’s sexy but drones on for too long and is kinda slow and uneventful. The groans and mild croaks are nice, as is the little bit of “la-la”ing at the end which should’ve been done more… A good song to put on comps for your friends.
(PO Box 382 Bremerton, WA 98337)