Elurra – Die Herrschaft der Sonne (Review)

At least some good news for the year 2021, because the German black metal band Elurra finally brings out a new long player with Die Herrschaft der Sonne. This is the 3rd album of the anti-fascist band in their history, which has so far won a wide mass of fans in the underground mainly with their ritual stage performances. The members of the band all come from the punk and diy scene and are also known for the Haglaz Fest they organize. Although it is a strictly political project, the lyrics of the combo are almost in an artistic nature and combine various themes such as depression, occultism or even personal life experiences. With the current record, Elurra, which by the way is the Basque word for snow, release something on vinyl for the first time and have not as usual recorded and mixed their songs themselves, but continue to work without a label behind them. The quality difference in terms of the sound becomes clear and raises the cold 2nd Wave Black Metal that is played by the troop to a whole new level.

Since I have been in contact with the music of Elurra through Trvefrykt Zine for a long time, my anticipation for the new record was quite high and after the first listen to Die Herrschaft der Sonne my expectations were not disappointed at all. Again you get to deal with icy Black Metal, which was audibly influenced by various Norwegian bands of the second wave, but also sounds much more melodic and thus is not just a kind of boring copy. The sound is kept quite straightforward and primitive, but in my opinion this fits well with the genre and the intended result. The guitar has an undertone that could be smoothly mistaken for synthesizers on some songs and gives the whole thing a slight touch of dungeon synth, while the rest of the riffing sounds rather gloomy and distorted. Due to the melodic sound, a hypnotic effect unfolds in some places, which firmly binds the listener to the songs and serves as theme to lead through the record. The drumming, meanwhile, is relatively monotonous and offers small variety, but still underpins the oppressive setting and drives forward well, especially through the massive bass drum. Regarding the songwriting, on the other hand, you get much more to discover and in the course, the album meets different tempos and influences from sludge or midtempo Black Metal, which gives the otherwise quite fast and aggressive sound a good contrast.

The biggest strength of Elurra, however, definitely is the atmosphere and the occult-like setting. Here you feel directly transported to a frosty winter night, in which you attend a mystical ritual in the middle of the forest that drives the fear sweat out of your pores and seems amazingly real. Through various basslines this feeling manifests itself even further and makes Die Herrschaft der Sonne sound even more oppressive and nightmarish. The sound in general seems much more mature and sounds better produced than anything Elurra have released so far without leaving the paths of their characteristic raw metal. This is especially beneficial to the deeply sinister vocals, as they echo evocatively from the speakers and ensure that the ritualistic aspect becomes even clearer without seeming forced or slick. Even if the playful sophistication comes up short in some corners, the overall structure has become truly uncommonly evil and can lay over the listener like a cold veil over the complete period of the album and lets you immerse in the setting very well in a musical way.

You can already pre-order Die Herrschaft der Sonne on vinyl from the band directly and then put it on at its official release date on February 1st at home. The artwork of the album comes from the feather of incredible talented Hagiophobic and offers a super presentation that underpins the ritualistic vein of the band and can make the record also visually an absolute eye-catcher to dive some more into the sounds of Elurra.

Die Herrschaft der Sonne is by far the best album that Elurra have presented us so far and ignites from the first to the last second. Especially in the current cold days, this record is a real treat, whose atmosphere is incredibly sinister, although they do without any unnecessary musical gimmicks. Especially the created retro charm and therefore raw sound knows how to convince on this record and gives the listener an oppressive feeling from which you can’t escape quickly. Personally, I hope to visit a live performance of the band after Corona, because I am firmly convinced that the record can unfold much better with a suitable stage performance and makes the setting far more intense. But anyway, if you are looking for some good old frosty 2nd Wave Black Metal, whipped by diabolical melodies and occult flair, you should definitely try this album and see for yourself what Elurra have concocted here without regretting it after listening.

Favourite Tracks:
“Kein Tod”
“Manifestation des Willens”

8/10

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