Ernte – Der Schwarzen Flamme Vermächtnis
Release Date: 13th February 2026
Label: Purity Through Fire
Bandcamp
Genre: Black Metal
FFO: Drudkh, Samael, Alcest.
Review By: Paul Cairney
Switzerland may not be the country you immediately think of when you think black metal. Attempting to alter this pre-conception is Ernte, a duo comprising of Häxär (guitars and drums) and Askahex (vocals, bass and Violin), with their 4th album Der Schwarzen Flamme Vermächtnis.
It is an album where Ernte have decided to spread their considerable black metal wings. It is expansive, for an album in the genre, and with the utterly immense female vocals of Askahex, they have a unique selling point that you will rarely find in any black metal band.
Der Schwarzen Flamme Vermächtnis (The Legacy of the Black Flame in English) opens with a sword fight, as albums generally do. It then spreads itself, firing out old school black metal riffs and aggressive vocals as the song, ‘Warrior of the Black Flame’, ebbs and flows to its conclusion. A strong opening salvo that assures the listener that this could be excellent.
The remaining 6 tracks back up this hypothesis. ‘Rise of the Older Ones’ introduces another unexpected sense of uniqueness, this time a violin. There is a possibility Norwegian black metal bands would frown upon this. It serves to raise Ernte above the trivial restrictions black metal places (or perhaps placed) on itself.
‘Lucifer’ bristles with unrestrained fury. ‘Wo sie wandelt’ benefits from being sung in German, as once again the vocals are a stand-out. Album closer, ‘Ritval Pyre’ brings Der Schwarzen Flamme Vermächtnis to a close, albeit with a sense of happiness, in a weird corpse-paint faced way, as the blackest of metal invades your personal space.
Der Schwarzen Flamme Vermächtnis is a seriously good album. Old school black metal is met head-on with a modern, but respectful, sensibility. Ernte have now released 4 albums in 5 years and this benefits the band. They allow the album to breathe, they know when to be dynamic and aggressive, but counteract this with moments of beauty.
Ernte should be discussed alongside many of the top modern bands in the genre.
(4.5 / 5)
