Coldworld returns to play with despair.
Since 2005 in Germany, the project led by Georg Börner (vocals/all instruments, Sangre de Muérdago, Stórmir) plays a mix of Atmospheric Black and DSBM which is now illustrated with Isolation, a third album, released by Eisenwald.
The album starts with Leere, a soft and melancholic introduction which slightly intensifies before letting Soundtrack To Isolation reveal the saturation while remaining anchored in soothing and airy sounds. The haunting leads also let violins and the few vocal parts take place in this desolate landscape, before the sound suddenly cuts off. A few distant laughs will incite the rhythmic to come back, then Walz takes over with a heavier sound coupled to tortured screams which freeze our blood. Oppressive riffs sometimes let some softer but equally dark parts appear before We Are Doomed nails us to the ground with a raw and unhealthy rhythmic. Violins and leads take turns to give the track its apocalyptic atmosphere, sometimes accompanied by some heady and mysterious vocal parts, which will disappear to let Five come to life at the water’s edge. Keyboards surround us and make us discover cries in the distance, despair overcomes, then suddenly everything gets clouded so that Wounds comes to present us its icy and sharp harmonics accompanied by a dark basis. Violins will also come back to haunt us, creating a heartbreaking dissonance to welcome raw vocals. A few choirs will also join the mix, then the rhythmic builds up to guide us into the void before Isolation Stagnation allows coldness to imprison us with soaring tones. The haunting sound will end with Hymnus, the last and longest composition, gradually bringing an ominous and mysterious rhythmic which will suddenly explode to let Old School riffs give life to melancholic sounds, without forgetting violins and majestic keyboards.
Coldworld‘s sound has always been surrounded by a dark aura which brings the darkest sadness to life. Isolation is a raw and heartfelt album that can be enjoyed on its own and which makes us face despair and desolation.
90/100