Despite only being around four years old, German based Kanonenfieber has taken the metal world by storm since the release of the Menschenmühle full-length in 2021. Written and performed entirely by masked musician Noise, the material on Menschenmühle fell somewhere between melodic black/death metal and fused it with lyrical content that explored elements of World War I based on reports, letters, and other documents from the period. World War I isn’t a new topic in metal, but the way that Noise presented it with the intent to educate and provide different perspective rather than glorify the conflicts gave off a different tone and when combined with the strength of the instrumentation that made Kanonenfieber stand out. Since 2021 there have been several EP’s, but this year Noise has put the finishing touches on the group’s sophomore effort Die Urkatastrophe. In addition to a fuller, room filling sound there are also some minor tweaks that make this album a bit more accessible than its predecessor while keeping the intensity and atmosphere at their peak levels.
Like its predecessor, Die Urkatastrophe begins in a more subdued and introspective fashion before the denser riffing comes roaring in. But this time the intro has been split into a separate track in the form of “Grossmachtfantasie”, which greets listeners with bursts of distortion and a sampled speech before softer, eerie guitar melodies take over. This transitions seamlessly into “Menschenmühle” (yes, this song title is the same as the title of the previous album), where Noise showcases that despite the additional polish and fuller sound Kanonenfieber still hits just as hard. Over the course of the track the instrumentals move between pummeling blackened death metal where the drums blast away and slower breaks that let the atmosphere build. It often feels like there’s a bit more of a death metal slant to the material, but songs like “Waffenbrüder” push things back towards melodic black metal territory where colder leads tower over the recording and the sound rarely lets up on the intensity for its entire run. In some ways the songwriting is a bit more accessible than before, as “Der Maulwarf” opts for a slower build-up and sing-along style chorus while “Panzerhenker” incorporates some grooves that sound like they’re pulling from other styles of metal outside of just black and death. It sometimes reminds me of what Behemoth was trying to do when they branched out on I Loved You At Your Darkest, but the main difference is Kanonenfieber has brought in these additional styles subtly and they don’t undermine the core power and intensity of the black and death metal riffs. 90% of the material remains focused on soaring leads that have an underlying melody but still hit hard, and there are quite a few sections that stand out over repeat listens. Noise also opted for another acoustic closing track, and “Als die Waffen kamen” softer folk sound proves to be just as impactful as the other songs. The only complaint I have is that a few of the longer tracks started to drag a bit and felt like they could’ve been trimmed just a bit, but this doesn’t hurt things too much.
Noise may be handling all the vocal work, but the way that he’s layered the vocals throughout Kanonenfieber continues to be impressive. This is showcased early on with ““Menschenmühle”, as he initially comes in with a raspier scream but layers lower growls over top of them to create a fuller sound. By the end of the track he’s receded down to a distorted whisper, ultimately building back up to a very distorted scream that really grab your attention. As you make your way through Die Urkatastrophe there are subtle tweaks to these styles. The distorted screams and growls go through slight changes in pitch and there are even cleaner chants and yells that make it sound like you’re hearing this directly from soldiers in combat. A lot of these elements were at play on earlier Kanonenfieber material, but with the additional clarity that comes from the bigger production they stand out more than before. I still don’t have a full grasp on what historical events and other research the lyrics are pulling from as there aren’t English translations out there yet, but that doesn’t make the performances any less powerful.
For album number two Noise has made some tweaks to Kanonenfieber’s sound while retaining the core elements that helped them stand out initially. There’s noticeable polish to the production and the songs seem even more oriented towards huge, sweeping leads than before. In some ways things are a bit more streamlined, but the riffs are just as aggressive and powerful while providing some standout hooks, making this an album that listeners should get a lot of mileage out of. I’m sure some may prefer a slightly rawer and dirtier sound to their black and death metal, but you can’t deny that there’s some real substance to the writing here and it’s exciting to hear Kanonenfieber with each release. Die Urkatastrophe is available from Century Media Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg