A new chapter begins for Erdling!
With their seventh album Mana on the horizon, Neill Freiwald (vocals/programming), Robin Sem Vedrfölnir (bass), Christian Schäfer (drums), and Ole Enders (guitar) are still collaborating with their label Out Of Line Music.
The album begins with Aurora, featuring simple but solid riffs supported by modern elements, creating a dark yet futuristic universe for the vocalist, sometimes accompanied by backing vocals on the choruses. Harmonics add a little diversity, but the song continues on its way to Dominus Omnium, where catchy Neue Deutsche Härte roots are once again at work, ensuring martial but also quite oppressive tones when one would like to accompany the vocalist. Miasma offers us a moment of respite with its introduction, but the song quickly becomes more aggressive and unifying, almost playful at the end, before Steh den Sturm considerably darkens the atmosphere. The track is much rawer, although much more accessible on its singable choruses but very powerful on its break, while Los Los Los is the perfect track to start dancing to if the band decides to include it in their setlists. Another moment of respite before Ohne Uns gets us headbanging with particularly intoxicating keyboards on the choruses, contrasting with the devastating groove of the verses, but Hinter dunklen Wolken revives the imposing passages with ever more effective samples to accompany the catchy base and its Metalcore-infused harmonics. The band teams up with Italy’s Hand of Juno for Alles dreht sich, strengthening its impact with an even more pronounced contrast on the break thanks to Melissa Bruschi (vocals), followed by Zerspreng die Ketten, a slightly shorter track that remains very lively and allows us to bang our heads from time to time, especially during the acceleration. The eponymous track Mana features slightly lighter sounds at times but doesn’t hesitate to reinforce the growls, then we reach the final track, Sternenschimmer, which fuels a slightly slower and more haunting atmosphere, even weaving in moments of melancholy, such as on the melodious solo.
For fans of Neue Deutsche Härte, Erdling embodies both the traditional sound and a few touches of the aggression of its roots. If you’re not won over by Mana on first listen, that’s absolutely not normal!
80/100
