Nargaroth
Gelibte Des Regens

"Even the rain loves..." might sound like a very imaginative phrase, but it seems much less so after listening to this fifth album by Nargaroth, the well-known German band born from the "psyche" (in a Greek sense, NDA) of Kanwulf.

This new work was released in 2003, but the instruments were recorded in 2001. Subsequently, in 2003, Kanwulf gave the sound a voice, thus connecting the past with the present (of that time). The change from previous works has arrived promptly. If Nargaroth was previously known for its devastating violence, speed, and rapidity, in this new chapter of their history, you find a more depressive and melodic Black Metal, a term to be taken "with a grain of salt."

The CD presents itself to the listener as very intimate and delicate, its progress is slow, and its progression is equally so. The riffs are much more dedicated to melody rather than fast bursts and scorching lashes, and it is precisely this that allows the songs to deeply penetrate the heart, to fill the voids with their infinite sadness. The songs are the ones creating a path made of darkness and then following it to the end without ever becoming boring, making one experience very personal and direct emotions. Kanwulf himself, after the suicide of a friend, which he could have prevented, retreats into solitude and suffers greatly, ultimately finding decisive influences that are reflected in this work. In conclusion, a certain type of compositional violence is always present, but it also leaves much space for melancholic and sick guitars.

"Gelibte des Regens" begins with the intro "Calling The Rain"—an invocation to the rain performed with particular instruments from Chile, the so-called rain sticks filled with stones that flow from one side of the shaft to the other. Thus begins the storm, followed by the true sound of rain and numerous sounds of nature; the intro closes with an instrument that vibrates like a horn but is still an artifact of Chilean origin. The whole creates a suggestive and relaxing track, so much so that you wish it would continue. Then comes "Manchmal Wenn Sie Schläft," "Something while she sleeps," which breaks the relaxing start with a melancholic riff, which is repeated endlessly until the voice appears and the guitar loop changes, always maintaining a slow and hypnotic rhythm. Very few speed changes occur in the middle of the track until the rhythm increases and then concludes, after a good 17 minutes, descending ever more with a swirling diminuendo.

It starts again with "Wenn Regen Liebt," "When the rain loves," which surprisingly breaks the gravity of "Manchmal Wenn Sie Schläft" with a direct departure typical of traditional Black Metal, only to fall back after a few minutes into slowness, resuming the sad, repetitively maddening style, but very engaging. After these 12 minutes, you reach the fourth song "Von Scherbengestalten und Regenspaziergang," "From a shard figure and a walk in the rain," where the drums and voice, until this moment not too invasive nor rude, have greater prominence, but it's always the riff, which here changes with the passing of time, that is the true protagonist. Without the melancholy and sadness so well reproduced, one wouldn't have that sensation of unease that is the cornerstone of the work and that forms a kind of connection between Kanwulf and the listener, united by the same feelings. Following the rain walk, "Manchmal Wenn Sie Schläft" returns in the alternative version, which in truth adds nothing to what has already been heard.

After the storm that comes at the end of each track, it’s time to conclude the album with the Outro "Leb'wohl," which opens with new rain sounds that give way after three minutes to the arpeggio and the actual beginning of the song. The album is fittingly concluded by the suffering atmosphere masterfully reproduced by the usual guitar riffs perfectly supported by every other instrument. The conclusion can only leave the listener with the same sadness that reigns supreme in the album and makes one appreciate the entire work of Nargaroth in this way. The entire piece is an invitation to introspection, to something difficult and far from finding, but if we look deep inside, it is within us and has always been there, close. Talking about the songwriting isn't easy, nor very appropriate; it's the melodies that implicitly tell us about it, revealing to us that the rain cries and suffers like a human being, breathes, is alive.

It is certainly not an easy album, I'm not trying to preach the usual elitism often heard about Black Metal, that it's a genre for a few "chosen ones.” On the contrary. I invite everyone to listen to it and discover their nostalgic and melancholic side because through music, as through everything else, we can truly understand ourselves and what surrounds us: nature, always remembering that "even the rain loves...".