There are two Sieghetnar-re-issues that recently came my way, i.e. the partly re-recorded 2008-demo Endlösung (this version came via Kunsthauch), of which the review was posted very recently on this site (see update July 20th 2014), and this review will deal with the re-release of this project’s third full length, Bewußtseinserweiterung (after Verfallen & Verendet and Todessehnsucht). FYI (though completely irrelevant): the cover of this new edition uses Bewusstseinserweiterung as title, with ‘ss’ instead of ‘ß’. You’re welcome…
Bewußtseinserweiterung was released as slipcase-CD in 2008 via Mexican label Azermedoth Records, and it was a totally instrumentally recorded album, created by solo-member Thorkraft. This re-release is re-mastered, comes with new artwork, and most important of all, it does contain vocals, created for this re-issue specifically. It’s the case with some older re-mastered re-issues, like higher mentioned Endlösung. When it comes to these vocals, well, they are pretty ‘traditional’ but undoubtedly extremely forceful rather than of the desolate-melancholic kind.
Bewußtseinserweiterung starts with the (short) introduction with the album’s title as name, which gives a good idea of this album’s concept, i.e. mingling industrial-ambient spheres with a grim, depressive yet harsh blackened-metallic instrumentation. Zwischenwelt (12+ minutes of length) brings a primitive and repetitive, mainly mid-tempo oriented Atmospheric Black Metal with nice, floating melodies and a firm, energetic rhythm. There a great deal of mesmerizing excerpts, due to the dissonant guitar riffs, spacy background synths, or the fairylike, softly waving Ambient melodies (cf. the dreamy outro on this track. Entrückung (11+ minutes) is comparable, starting with an atmospheric introduction (keys and piano) and soon transmorphed into a cold, slow-paced Melancholic / Atmospheric Black Metal piece with hypnotic riffs, wretched vocals and melodious leads. This composition too ends with a dreamy, soft-spacy synth-outro. Bewußtseinserweiterung ends with twenty-minutes-tracker Trennung, which starts a little Burzum-esque, with the Filosofem-album especially coming to mind, yet slightly more droning in riff-based execution. Despite its length, it sounds more varying and imponant in comparison to both former creations. It does contain the very same elements, but Trennung holds your attention whole the time.
Oh yes, after about eight minutes of silence, there’s a hidden outro, though very limited in length, but it is not that memorable…
For fans of early Blut Aus Nord, Judas Iscariot, Raventale, Vinterriket, Leviathan etc.