The very opening of this record doesn’t inspire too much confidence in me each time I play this, featuring as it does the same slightly tacky pseudo-orchestral synthesizer parping that blights the attempts of many metal bands to cultivate a sense of grandeur, most notably, for example, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk.

Fortunately it gets much better, and this is a reasonably solid slab of death metal with frequent melodic overtones as well as the odd influence from folk metal or NWOBHM. At times it reminds me of a catchier version of Alastis, often adopting mid-to-low tempo churning riffs accentuated by slightly hammy synth parts. At other points, though the band demonstrate a clear knack for effective up-tempo melodeath riffing, with well-executed solos also making an appearance, as on Eisenketzer.

Part of the appeal of this album, I have to say, is the vocals, delivered entirely in German. It’s such a perfect language for death metal, and Schwarte’s guttural, barking delivery perfectly complements the thudding, thuggish riffs, producing something that can at times be imposing and militaristic (not that I’m playing on national stereotypes, or anything like that!). At other times they achieve quite the opposite effect, with the buoyant but odd twin lead guitar refrains on Fegefuer making me think of children dancing round a maypole, such is their brutal power. Der Sturm des Zweifels is a real highlight, with lead lines cascading elegantly around eachother.

The aforementioned Fegefeuer is one of the few curveballs in a collection of well-executed death metal tracks, with heavy emphasis on lead guitar melody. Whilst at times it is not as powerful as you would hope, not quite demonstrating the upper gear of intensity that a band needs to stand out, its strength is in the songwriting and its variety. A sense of melody shines through each track and there are enough diversions into such fripperies as flamboyant solos or folky singsongs to keep you guessing interestedly. Overall, a pretty decent record which probably doesn’t really rival those in the top tier of melodic death metal.