Waldgeflüster – Knochengesänge I & II
Release Date: 7th November 2025
Label: AOP Records
Knochengesänge I Bandcamp
Knochengesänge II Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Black Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Symphonic Black Metal, Folk Metal.
FFO: Panopticon, Ellende, Saor, Groza, Der Weg einer Freiheit, Karg.
Review By: Rick Farley
German post, atmospheric black metalers Waldgeflüster are returning for their double album release of Knochengesänge and Knochengesänge II, both of which will be reviewed together as one, since they were combined in the press release. Both albums are born from the same DNA fragments but take different paths in how their immersive soundscapes are presented.
Knochengesänge essentially is the half of the double album that acts as more of the traditional sound that anyone familiar with the band will easily recognize. Huge swathing waves of luscious atmosphere mixed with dreamy black metal elements. Screechy, shouty post black vocals morph into ethereal cleans, constantly changing the expressional depth of the songs. Each track carries so much emotional weight that ranges from powerful blast beats and textured aggression to folky passages and mammoth soundscapes that all are balanced by the layers of hypnotic melancholy, use of airy space and blackened intensity. Deeply rooted in nature, the record feels like it’s part of the forest, alive and breathing, with raging waters flowing nearby and a colossal mountainous range full of mystery and danger. Opening track Krähensalme (feat. Panopticon) is a fitting example of this, its acoustic guitar opening is soothing but doesn’t take long before it erupts into a distorted wall of tremolo picked guitars shifting from chord to chord. A forward moving fast pace, settles into more atmospheric melodies and crunchier, catchier riffs for a brief period before returning to the wicked pace it started with. The atmosphere switches from huge to sombre, all while maintaining its set momentum. Formula wise, this seems to be the case with a substantial portion of the record. At times, it can feel like extremely daunting, while others it’s subdued just enough. Depending on your tolerance for excessiveness, this can be highly taxing. The guitars buzz with black metal ferocity only to succumb to a rich saturation full of ghostly clean vocals, enormous walls of thick concentrated sound and then kind of veers off into lighter airiness. While Waldgeflüster excels at this particular sound, there are so many layers of atmosphere, it can be overwhelming. Sitting just shy of an hour without including the second half of the album, it was a fatigued session for me, even on the first listen. Which is a shame because the music here can be beautiful, melancholic, depressive, and fierce all within the same track. Not every song hits its mark for me, mostly because it’s so dense and unnecessarily long, with some editing, I’m sure there is a pretty damn good record hidden in here somewhere.
Sitting at 50 minutes, Knochengesänge II is another long one, full of more of the same but just more experimental, doomier, folkier tracks than the first half. Significantly less to no black metal on part II and mostly clean vocals with the exception of a little bit of aggression here and there. There is a good range of clean vocal styles that makes some of these songs have more personality than others. Truth be told, of the two records, I think Knochengesänge II is the much more interesting album with better songs overall. It has the same type of epic atmosphere, but it’s way less crammed with suffocating layers. Again, not every track lands on this half either, but the ones that do are absolutely fantastic. The Little King and His Architect is moody, melancholically heavy and at times gorgeously intricate. The vocals lean towards slightly gothic, lower toned and projecting deep soulfulness. Crusade in the Dark is another standout, built in the same manner as old school Katatonia. There’s an off kilter catchiness to the track that makes it impossible to ignore. It’s captivating without excessive elements, and has goth and doom undertones that keep it engaging. For the most part, Knochengesänge II is calm, quiet, and rooted in acoustic guitar passages. It does have electronic and piano passages that are prevalent as well. Each record is an extension of the other, with both being remarkably coherent together.
Overall, for me, though, it’s just too excessive. As good as some of these songs are, I don’t see myself really coming back very often and even then, it’s probably only for a handful of tracks. The sayings “less is more” and “too much of a good thing” are in full effect here.
(3 / 5)
