LICHT ERLISCHT – A Narrow Path
 
Label: Black Blood Records
Release: February 27 2009
By: Goddess Sioux
Rating: 8/10
Time: 45:46
Style: Funeral Black Metal
URL: Licht Erlischt
 

LICHT ERLISCHT is a one man band hailing from Oslo, Norway. Seeing as most black metal to come out of Norway is usually almost always the best, we shall see how LICHT ERLISCHT stands up to the standards. All instruments, vocals and songwriting are handled by the one and only Niklas. LICHT ERLISCHT also put out a demo in 2007 entitled Schlachtenklang Tonwerk, which was limited to 100 copies on tape. Now that’s old school. Now onward to the brand new release entitled A Narrow Path.

Right from the start, this isn’t your typical black metal. It is slow, grim and totally somber. The first song The Vaultvenurer sets a rather melancholy tone for the album. It carries melodramatic guitar riffing that seems to carry you off into a murky atmosphere. The beat of the drums is a rather slow steady pace. The vocals are grimly growled with a sinister undertone. The next song A Passage speeds up a bit, you could probably head bang to this one. The lead guitar riffing takes over in this song, giving A Passage a rather vibrant kick, until the middle when it slows down and changes form. It always amazes me, these one person bands, how precise in the recording they are without making any musical errors. The recording is quite clear and nearly perfect. My only complaint is that each song is rather long. It can be good for awhile, but then in some parts the song seems to keep dragging on. I really like song four Radiance. Once we get past the trudging entrance, the song seems to radiate to the grimmest depths imaginable. I must commend Niklas on having some of the doomiest black metal guitar riffs ever heard. We end with The Offshore Oaks, with ominous bells tolling and winter winds whispering in the background, I wonder if this song can’t get anymore bleak, and it does. As the guitars roll in like a wave of despair, this music makes you feel that feeling of emptiness and isolation. LICHT ERLISCHT is truly a band for the misanthropic. A Narrow Path is a very good first effort for them. Give them a listen if you are into depressive black metal to the fullest extent.