Ellende is essentially one of the most emotionally charged atmospheric black metal projects out there right now. You can hardly listen to any of the Austrians’ tracks and not fall into the center of the emotional whirlwind of moods, alternating with the ethereal and soaring moments that usually accompany them and very delicately touch your thinnest strings.

Although this time, it seems to me, they come with an atypical choice of approach for the band in relation to the cover, which depicts a wild boar in 16th century clothing  and which is again the work of the group’s ideologue L.G., we find in the album exactly the same amount of raw energy of Ellende. Amidst the already familiar atmosphere, however, there are interwoven new elements that add to our already established understanding of the band’s music.

Again steeped in philosophy and musings on human suffering and the beauty of pain, Ellende talk about everything in their lyrics and present pure emotion without over-spicing up the tracks. In „Ellenbogengesellschaft“ we will meet texts in both German and English, and among the lyrics there are also inclusions from the documentary „Francis Bacon: Fragments of a Portrait“ from the year 1966, in which we can hear the words of one of the greatest British artists of all time – Francis Bacon: „People nearly always believed that the distortions of them are an injury to them“.

Here I immediately draw the parallel with the British Lord Chancellor, philosopher, jurist and writer of the same name, who lived until 1626, and his great resemblance to the cover. Whether such an analogy is accidental or not, and the exercise „What did the author want to say with his work?“, I leave to your reflection. Let’s not forget that L.G. is captivated by philosophy, and in fact the cover may carry much more meaning than meets the eye.

The depth is felt at every level in the album, and besides the beautifully written and valuable lyrics, we can also enjoy beautiful moments with ethereal choral performances, the likes of which we have not heard in Ellende’s music before. They are performed entirely by L.G., who surprises with his new vocal skills and the level of his own development as a musician. Pushing the boundaries of the project several steps further through this captivating combination of airiness and traditional raw energy and dynamics.
Does „Ellenbogengesellschaft“ sound lighter than Ellende’s usual records? Definitely not, but there is a specific nuance that we haven’t had the chance to capture in the band’s music before.

The opener „Ich Bin“ lures us in with soft piano melodies, a classic chorus and acoustic guitars, with the laid-back atmosphere quickly evolving into the band’s classic sound with the second track, „Unsterblich“, where L.G. erupts with every string strummed and every harsh vocal sung. Within 49 minutes, powerful soundscapes unfold before us, as epic moments take us through the coldest corners of Austria, and then give way to the cozy warmth of ethereal passages, through which the listener floats through space in beautiful unison with the music .

The dynamics of the album are superbly prepared by L.G. in a restocking way, as among the guest artists on the album this time is  J.J. (Karg, Harakiri for the Sky) whose vocals undoubtedly add another shade of emotion to the record, along with those of L.G.
I can’t help but mention that most of the recording and overall mixing and mastering of the music on the album was done by Markus Stock at his Klangschmiede Studio E, which in my eyes is always bonus points in the chances of a great production . At times you can also feel his typical mixing and mastering style – especially when we hear the clean vocals on „Ruhelos“.

In a few words, „Ellenbogengesellschaft“ is a fascinating story in eight chapters. Atmospheric black metal with many nuances and emotionally charged tracks, thought-provoking and inner awakening to some basic existential truths. Enjoy the emotion and atmosphere of the album, I think it’s a really beautiful start to autumn – the music brings exactly that ethereal spirit and depth, so well inherent in the beloved season.

Score: 10/10 ????????????????????????????????????????

The album will be released on September 30th via AOP Records,  you can order the album at the following link: https://shop.aoprecords.de/de.