Karg has evolved again.
Although originally created as a solo project by V. Wahntraum (Harakiri for the Sky, Lûs, Seagrave), his ninth album Marodeur is the first to have been created as a collective also featuring Paul Färber (drums, Nekrodeus, Norikum, live for Ellende and Harakiri for the Sky), Daniel Lang (guitar), Georg Traschwandtner (guitar) and Christopher Pucher (guitar/vocals), as well as violinist Klara Bachmair (Firtan, Vinsta).
Schnee ist das Blut der Geister opens the album with an almost reassuring softness, which eventually gives way to rawer riffs before returning to accompany the saturated vocals, disappearing from time to time to make way for backing vocals. The sound slows down and welcomes Perchta for a striking duet, before Michael Eder‘s piano leads us into Findling, where the imposing riffs immediately take possession of our minds, while V. Wahntraum pours out his sorrow at the top of his lungs. The track is as gripping as it is aggressive, whether in terms of vocals or instrumentals, but it soon gives way to Yugen, where the rhythm is relatively more upbeat, taking advantage of a fairly slow pace to establish its contrasting atmosphere. The few clear choruses bounce off the vocalist’s cries while the riffs become more virulent before suddenly calming down via a saving break, then exploding one last time in despair before Verbrannte Brücken again comes to allow us to breathe, finally letting its melancholy tint the rage that arises without warning. The sound then becomes jerky, matching the direct approach of the vocals, then the double pedal that brings haunting tones combined with the violin, found on the gentle introduction to Annapurna before the riffs once again become heady and finally quite majestic while carrying the poignant screams. The band allows us to linger for a moment again, before picking up the pace once more for a climactic finale that leads into the dissonant Reminiszenzen einer Jugend, where soaring harmonics naturally weave their contagious languor. Even non-German speakers will feel this distress before the break, but also the fury that comes after it, leading us to Kimm, where the band is accompanied by Marko Kolac (Svntarer), who brings his own raw touch to hypnotic riffs to reinforce the infernal chaos. The final moments of the track leave us with a feeling of ambient gloom before Anemoia‘s dark groove kicks in, creating a rousing moment before succumbing once again to sadness coupled with a certain liveliness, but the sound will inevitably subside and disappear into nothingness, bringing the album to a close.
Marodeur is one of those albums whose depressing atmosphere manages to take us on a journey, and Karg seems to be an expert in this field. His heady melancholy is bound to carry you away in its ocean of darkness.
95/100