A band whose name NEUN WELTEN is based upon the cosmology of Nordic Mythology (where Yggdrasil connects the nine known worlds), who are released on Prophecy Productions and who lists Ulver, October Falls, Tenhi, Agalloch and Sigur Ros as their influences? Wow – that seems to be just exactly my cup of tea!
Regarding the musical direction, the quote from Prophecy Productions, that NEUN WELTEN is “about to fill the gap Empyrium has left” is even more fitting. You really can’t describe the music on Destrunken in a better way.
NEUN WELTEN offer stunning wonderful Neo/Natural Folk, which surely creates a very somber and melancholic atmosphere, but is miles away from just being plain dark or gloomy, and in that way building up a calm and dreamy atmosphere. Acoustic guitars, strings, pipes, piano etc. directly transport the listener away from stressful reality and place him on an acoustic bed seemingly standing on the clearing in an autumnal wood. Furthermore the male and female vocals are used effectively to deepen the atmosphere. And despite the Nordic name of NEUN WELTEN, the lyrics are more in a poetic, mystical than in a rather flat heathen way.
The songs sound completely rounded and on some occasions if listening in a dreamlike state you hardly notice when one song ends and another one starts. This surely is very positive if speaking about the lulling aspect of Destrunken but on the other hand the overall tension to some point is dropped now and then. Exactly because of this I personally like songs like Destrunken II, Jarknez and Schein best, because we can find some highly effective drumming here, adding a great dynamic character to the songs.
Destrunken is truly a beautiful piece of escape from all day life set to music and every fan of Empyrium or Ulver’s Kveldssanger album as well as everyone even only slightly into folk music just has to check out Destrunken, which is available in a wonderful crafted digi-pack.