Year: 2023
Label: Under the Sign of Garazel Productions
Rating: 7,6 / 10
The mini-album of the Polish band TEUFELSBERG attracted my attention with a press release stating that it was recorded as a tribute to the mighty SACRILEGIUM, NORTH, GROM, NEASIT, HEFEYSTOS. I worship these names, so I certainly couldn't just ignore ”Cienie".
Of course, I did not expect a miracle, since it is simply impossible to convey all the nuances of the cult recordings of Dąb i Orzel bands. TEUFELSBERG also failed somehow, although they got pretty close. All three tracks are performed at medium tempo and are in fact quite monotonous. The guitar sound is really reminiscent of SACRILEGIUM and NORTH. There is also a general feeling of antiquity and melancholy, although it does not reach the "originals". As for the similarity with GROM, HEFEYSTOS and NEASIT, everything is not very successful with this. The exquisite sound of the first two was built to a large extent on keyboard parts, clear-voiced recitations and acoustic and solo guitars, intertwined in the most beautiful and interesting way. NEASIT were generally quite a "light" band, with a lot of Heavy Metal in their music. Instead of all this, TEUFELSBERG offers repetition of the same riffs and mostly aggressive vocals. To finish with the comparisons: the whole "Cienie" is the first half of SACRILEGIUM song "W dolinie rwących potoków", only simplified and slightly slowed down.
With all this, "Cienie" copes with the main thing: it reminds about the old times fills the soul with a deeply disturbing melancholic feeling, which in the most incurable cases can lead to a rethinking of your whole being, as happened to me when I first listened to the music of Dąb i Orzel bands. After all, if you don't even know what are all these bands, ay attention to this release anyway, because it's a strong melancholic blackened metal.
English (UK) 
Крыўская