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Drottnar > Welterwerk > Reviews
Drottnar - Welterwerk

one of one - 91%

AxlFuckingRose, March 15th, 2024

This album is a doozy. Jam-packed with frenetic energy, start-stop riffing, and an instrumental palette more intricate than almost anything I can ever remember, Drottnar is truly one-of-one in black metal. They don’t exactly give you many breathers when it comes to the song structures or pace and the music is so dense it can be difficult to digest on your first or second listen, but if you’re more tech-death or prog-thrash inclined, this is almost a must-listen in the black metal world.

Right out the gate, “Ad Hoc Revolt” exemplifies the scope of Drottnar perfectly, with a dizzying array of percussion breaks and riff changes that supplement Sven-Erik Lind’s harsh vocals. The influences are clear: technical bands like Watchtower, Atheist, Voivod, and of course old school black metal artists like Mayhem and Abigor all clearly play a role in the colorful tree of complex black metal that is Drottnar’s sound. What is most striking about Drottnar, however, is that the true black metal aesthetics are not lost in the intricacies and finer details. The crashing cymbals and distorted riffing is pure Norway in that sense, and for what it’s worth, the fiery album artwork fits the mold too. The band showcases their range with the following “The Karistocracy Catacombs,” a darker and more methodical track that isn’t as reliant on shotgun-style instrumental changeups. Moments like this are why Drottnar is so special: they’re technical, but they have the straightforward black metal chops as well.

Don’t worry, though. The insanity picks right back up after the middle portion of the record. “Victor Comrade” is a bit of a spacey interlude that essentially ties the two halves of the record together, in my opinion, before the flurry of riff changes and guitar tricks that accompany “Stardom in Darkness” shoot in. The instrumentation of this song is a stark reminder of how talented these guys are. The drums are panoramic and in-your-face, the vocals have elements of screamo in their raspy delivery, and the song structure is abstract, disjointed, and abrasive compared to the sound the band developed earlier in the record. And that’s where the beauty of this record lies: Drottnar always keeps you guessing about what is going to come next. When they start slowing down, it’s only a matter of moments before they pick things up again. When the atmosphere of a song starts to feel ethereal, the next one is sure to be a bombardment of percussion.

Another remarkable trait of a song like “Destruction’s Czar” is how effortlessly the band is able to stretch their ideas out into eight-minute behemoths and still being able to reel the ideas in by the end of it. This track, which is the second-longest on the album, has mid-tempo segments and fast-paced frenzies, but it still feels cohesive. The ideas stem from the same logical template, even if their transitions are sharp and abrupt. I hear echoes of symphonic black metal with the soaring harmony down the back end of this song as well, a touch that I wish Drottnar had implemented more frequently, especially on the final cut which is a tad bit too one-dimensional for my taste.

Overall, this album is one of the more original albums I have ever heard in black metal and its uniqueness is definitely its selling point. Not every song is a smash hit, but the highs on this album are so astronomically high that you’ll just keep coming back to it if you’re a fan of any of its constituent genres. Personally, I enjoy almost all things technical, and this record scratches that itch for the black metal realm. I hope that one day the blueprint that Drottnar put forth on Welterwork gets expanded upon, because I haven’t heard much of anything like this album before or after its release.

When did black metal become so technical? - 93%

LedZeppelin2112, March 14th, 2024

It’s a wonder that such a talented band can go virtually unknown for so long; yet this is the position that Drottnar is in. Perhaps they’re too niche, too avant garde to have developed any real commercial momentum. Not only that, but Drottnar have only managed three full length studio albums yet have been active since 1997.

The first of these three, Welterwerk, was released in 2006 nearly a decade after the band’s inception. Despite being a Norwegian born project, Welterwerk is not your traditional Norwegian black metal. In fact, aside from Sven-Erik Lind’s high register, shrieking vocal delivery, there isn’t a whole lot of what we would call “traditional” black metal to be found here. Welterwerk has more in common with technical or avant garde death metal like Gorguts or Imperial Triumphant. Black metal of this style is very rare; yes, Imperial Triumphant has hints of black metal in their mix and Deathspell Omega has carved out a very unique career path in this style, but Drottnar are arguably on another level in terms of musicianship and composition despite being far less known than any of those bands.

The production values of Welterwerk highlight the band’s musicianship incredibly well. The guitars are erratic and complex, with many weird, almost random arrangements in place. Karl Fredrik Lind and Bengt Olsson’s jarring performances clash often; as a headphone listener it’s really cool to hear one guitar in each ear at times, both operating at a high level with complex palm-mutes and some more typical tremolo picking that comes with most black metal. Håvar Wormdahl’s bass playing is arguably even more impressive, if you can distinguish it from the crisp yet chaotic guitars. The mix makes this pretty easy though, as the bass is never overbearing but always clearly audible, and one of my favorite aspects of the album. Then there’s Glenn-David Lind’s drumming, which ranges from relentless blast beats at some points to matching the eccentric nature of the rest of the band at others, all the while maintaining a high standard of quality play. Vocally, Sven-Erik puts in a strong performance and there’s enough variety in his shrieking (there’s some really awesome moments like his opening scream in ‘Autonomic Self-Schism’) to keep the listener’s attention from straying away from him too far.

Compositionally, Drottnar are just as ambitious as they are musically. In fact, the longer their songs are, arguably the more interesting and memorable they become. For example, ‘The Kakistocracy Catacombs’ and ‘Destruction’s Czar’ are among the longest tracks on the album (both over eight minutes, the former nearing nine) and yet they never feel overwhelming or dragging; on the contrary, they contain some of the most interesting riffs that Welterwerk has to offer. But even the “shorter” tracks offer so many tempo changes and different sections that it’s impossible for one’s mind to wander when constantly being bombarded with new and intriguing pieces of music.

Aside from the weird, and slightly too long instrumental ‘Victor Comrade’ (which is a bit of a clunky transition from the record’s first half to second half), Welterwerk wastes no time delivering mind-bending material. Highly jarring yet precise musicianship is the initial draw but once you really begin to get into the meat of the songs and start to dissect them, it’s clear that there’s a lot of nuance and hard work that was put into this record. These are extremely talented musicians with ambitious visions that unfortunately haven’t been fully recognized, as this band is unfortunately far from well known, or even generally considered a cult classic to my knowledge. Drottnar seem to take their time between albums, so the hope for a new record in the next few years isn’t out of the question. I have no doubt they’re putting real effort in and that the next one will be well worth the wait.

Schizophrenia has never sounded this good - 85%

XuL_Excelsi, December 11th, 2009

Mental illness rarely manifests itself in musical form, with behavioural disorders usually affecting speech patterns and causing the occasional fit of rage. This album is that rare example of clinical insanity in aural form, luckily finding its way outside Norway for all our enjoyment.

“Welterwerk” is a bizarre monster to behold, changing shape constantly and assuring you never get too comfortable. This is only barely black metal, but wholly something else entirely. There is no exact genre to put it in so as to prepare you for what you’re about to experience.

Don’t let the Christian ideals of Drottnar lead you to believe they will be tame. This album is absolutely insane! The guitars are immensely fast and disjointed, with palmmuting and tremolo all over the place. The riffs are ridiculously random and off-beat, and yet infectiously catchy. I’ve never heard anything like the guitar-work on “Welterwerk”, clinical and precise in its chaotic essence. The bass is outstanding on every track, some of the fastest and most technical bass around. It’s also quite prominent in spite of its distortion. At times the tremendous speed of the bass almost puts the guitars to shame, and that’s saying a lot. The technicality of the drums is astounding, with aggression and speed to rival any other in extreme metal, and in slow sections, incredible timing with unique tempo’s and off-beat parts.

Overall, the musicianship is exemplary, with all the instruments outdoing each other and yet still flowing harmoniously. The composition is extremely tight, and the songwriting, albeit somewhat strange, is excellent. It takes immense talent to write music like this, so random and erratic, yet still memorable and catchy. The vocals are a cold and furious shriek, spitting and aggressive. This is where Drottnar comes closest to black metal, with definitive high-pitched screams and squeals. What is however unique is the intense delivery, making it evident that willingness and passion won over technique here. Do note the fervent shriek at 6:00 on “Destruction’s Czar”, this is a very talented vocalist, carrying the frenzied music forcefully forward with indomitable rage.

The lyrics are very impressive, despite the obvious Christian influence. These are not praise songs, but rather insightful social commentary, hitting home on many socio-political issues and shining a cold light on mankind’s shortcomings.

The production on “Welterwerk” is terrific. This features wonderful clarity and depth of all instruments, and a cold, clinical feel overall. With many samples and spoken word throughout, this album is varied, and often schizophrenic, with silences erupting into frantic riffery without warning. Definite standout tracks are “Stardom in Darkness”, “Destruction’s Czar” and “Ad Hoc Revolt”, but there are no bad songs on “Welterwerk”, this album is very enjoyable from start to finish.

In conclusion, this is an accomplished effort from extremely talented musicians. Even if you only hear it once-off, it is a curious collection of songs that are bound to invoke very strange emotions. However, it should be avoided if you are prone to fits.

Interesting but flawed - 80%

harvestman, May 19th, 2008

This is one of those albums that sounds better on paper than it actually is. When I first heard about it I was almost foaming at the mouth--sounded like just my thing--i.e., complex and technical black metal that experiments a lot with dissonance. I wasn't exactly disappointed at first. This kind of music usually takes a while to appreciate, and I thought it was just be a matter of time before I was loving it. But this hasn't happened. They deserve a lot of credit for actually coming up with something new. Just wish I liked it better.

The first thing that struck me was their unique sound. I can't think of many bands that sound anything like this--maybe Mayhem on "Grand Declaration" or the Polish band Non Opus Dei. Not many, anyway. They take their experimentation with atonality even further than the vast majority of technical death metal. It's refreshing at first, but quickly becomes stale. There isn't nearly enough variety in there. The riffs are often convoluted and complex, but they start to sound formulaic after a while. They seem to use the same chords over and over. There are some really nice atonal chords in there, not the usual black metal fare at all, and I applaud them for using them, but I think they need to expand their sonic palette a bit.

The musicianship is top-notch. I especially like to hear the bass poking through at times--probably my favorite part of the music. The musicianship far outstrips the compositional abilities of the band, though. They have two guitar parts going at all times, but rarely do they use them in any interesting way. They're harmonized nicely, but doing exactly the same thing for 99% of the album. I expect a little more from my techical metal. This kind of music is hard to pull off, and I think the band are headed in the right direction. They just haven't gotten there yet. Breakthroughs are often like this--a band latches onto a new idea, which they then proceed to beat to death. With a bit of maturity, this band could take their ideas into some really interesting places.

Inventive and strange technical metal! - 84%

Spawnhorde, October 21st, 2006

Odd technical extreme metal band Drottnar have actually been around a hell of a long time for a band with only one full-length to their name. Apparently they began as some sort of folk/melodic black metal and gradually turned into what they are now; technical blackened-death style metal. There are quite a few moments of both black metal and death metal on this CD, but the main oddity present here is the fact that black metal itself is not defined by any means by its technicality. If you go back in the history of the genre, you'll notice that, in fact, technicality (that is, complicated musicality and a penchant for going "all over the place" in terms of scales and time signatures) is completely absent from 99.9% of black metal; instead, black metal usually focuses on drawn-out, repetitive riff phrases with standard drumming (fast, slow or in between).

That having been said, this is essentially modern technical death metal; steady phrases interconnect but without easy transitions; often, jagged spikes of guitar and angular drumming will emerge and play a part in the chaos of it all. The beauty in the inherent chaos of tech. death is what draws a lot of people to the genre itself (curiously, it's really more of a modern development in the metal scene). The same draw is utilized here; harmonic and atonal riffs leap around all over the place offering very little respite to the listener. Stops and starts are frequent and demanding of the listener's attention span. The black metal ideas enter the playing field here during dissonant, typically tremolo-picked riffs interspersed throughout the album, which is really a very good idea considering this hasn't been done (well) by very many bands, if any, at all.

I also greatly appreciate this band's off-kilter image and interesting concepts; from their band picture to their logo to some of the song titles ("Niemand Geht Vorbei" which, translated from German, means "None Shall Pass", "Victor Comrade" and "Destruction's Czar"). They all point to a very secular worldview, despite the band apparently being Christian (trust me, it's not apparent here at all). I guarantee the aim is to play/mock the ideas of Nazism, Communism, etc., which I find pretty darn cool, if I do say so myself. This album is full of surprises ranging from interesting melody to throat-scraping harsh vocals and shouldn't be missed by tech-death fans who don't mind a bit of the black with their chaos.