Ungfell – De Ghörnt Review

A cold and melodic end of the year…

The Swiss Alps have echoed with some unique melodies, only three years after the previous release, Ungfell delivered an impressive collection of Melodic Pagan black metal tracks that are covered in hints of various synth sounds.

My personal experience with this unit of a band started with their second full-length record “Mythen, Mären, Pestilenz” back in the cold winter of 2018, and hearing that ominous sounding ambient track “Oberlandmystik” that was essentially played on repeat for the entire season due to it’s magnificent atmosphere. From that point onwards, my journey with this band began, I’ve dwelled within their discography and was rooted in their music within only a month, loving the sound and all the small details of their now popular tracks.

De Ghörnt now features a well-known sounding style of black metal that Ungfell have crafted in the previous years with albums such as “Mythen, Mären, Pestilenz” and “Es grauet” that contain the “frigid” guitar passages, and heavy synth backgrounds, essentially mimicking the mountains and their dominant atmosphere. This full-length covers a variety of themes, mostly focusing on nature, paganism and winter. From the starting track, “S Alpeglüeh“, the listener is transported to a realm of melodic but still medieval sounding black metal , where the synth sections essentially create a better image for the tracks to come, some sections remind listeners of likely influence of “Windir“. Acoustic guitar passages following the second track, as well as chanty vocal performance from both “Vâlant” and “Menetekel” create a beautiful dynamic between the two, creating an enjoyable listening experience by stepping outside the traditional approach to black metal songwriting.

Tracks like “Im Ruusch” showcase this dynamic perfectly. The melodies dominate, only to be pulled back into the beautiful acoustic guitar strumming, and then forwarded to an epic sounding main riff. On top of that there is a killer “old school” sounding solo, that is performed in the style of this record, vintage and melodic. The entire track is filled with elements that make the band stand out and ultimately make the band undeniably unique. On the production side of things, the synths and guitars are sounding rather clean and well mixed, combined with the vocals from both band members and the overlapping melodic sections, truly make this LP perform outstandingly.

My experience with this album has been undeniably cold on the surface, yet warm at its core. Ungfell possesses a quality that sets them apart from other bands with pagan themes, something deeply rooted and hidden within those Alps. With that, I can confidently say we’re ending the year with one of its most beautiful releases.

Ungfell “De Ghörnt” was released on November 29th via Eisenwald.

Track Listing :

01. S Alpeglüeh
02. D Pracht vom Eggishorn
03. Im Ruusch
04. De Fährmaa
05. Rollibock (De Ghörnt vom Gletscher)
06. Sturmglockä
07. De Geischt vom Märjelesee