Though I did take German in high school and college, it had been too long for me to totally make out the title of this album. Apparently it translates into: “Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future.” While it seemed like a useless pretense to render this in another language, this is undeniably a nod to Friedrich Nietzsche’s 1886 tract, Beyond Good and Evil. While black metal is no stranger to Nietzsche as a literary influence, only a few bands have had the audacity to name a work after one of his (Gorgoroth has an album called Twilight of the Idols). Those interested in the work itself should be happy to know that Amazon has the Kindle version up for free.
The album was actually self-released by Wende’s sole member, Zamiel, back in 2011. But this debut album, along with its follow up (The Third and the Noble) has been re-released by Moribund Records, who’ve begun marketing it as “Burzumic Black Metal.” And after a few listens, this does make a fair amount of sense, as you can feel the influence of the first three Burzum records (Burzum, Det Som Engang Var and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss) through much of it’s dreary passages. Whether or not Zamiel carries any of Varg’s ideological weight is of course impossible to tell, as (like Varg) his lyrics are basically apolitical. For any reader who feels curious, the lyrics are all up on Metal Archives. Though I doubt Zamiel intended this, the guitars have a muffled sound to them, almost invoking the spirit of Malefic on Telepathic with the Deceased, but perhaps I’m reaching.
Anyway, there is something undeniably pompous about Vorspiel, and it’s this quality which makes it both puzzling (if not outright silly) and rather compelling. There’s actually not much here concerning Nietzsche’s concept of the “Will to Power,” but more of mankind’s relationship to nature and the cosmos. From “Nichts und Schoenhiet (…of and concerning truth)”
To the sky, his words sought truth
Understanding then happened
Truth was ever nothing,
is ever nothing.Complete, the old man fell dead.
Much he beheld on his path
beheld valley
beheld forest
beheld lake
beheld nightBeauty will save us from truth.
Again, depending on how you look at it, this is either very intellectually stimulating or very ridiculous. But I have to give Zamiel credit for trying to put some philosophical weight behind the music, rather than the standard black metal fare of how cold it is outside. Of course, lines like those above are open to interpretation. Some are rather clever (e.g. “How I hate the wakeful world”, “One is most alive while dying”) while others kind of come off as Ralph Waldo Emerson rendered by Deepak Chopra (“What then is the philosophy of the future? To see destination become journey and journey become destination”).
I focus on the lyrical content so much because it seems that’s what Zamiel put the most thought. But of course, the music itself merits some discussion as well. As a complete package, the best song on this album is definitely “Nichts und Schonheit,” which translates roughly into “Nothing and Beauty.” Everything Zamiel is going for, from the dramatic, guitar-driven narrative to the sense of atmosphere and wonder surrounding the music comes together excellently. Another highlight would be the long, lurching “Der Ring Des Cosmos.”
Otherwise, the album has a lot of weird, spacey synth tracks, some of which work better than others. I found “Verklarung” kind of tiresome, and “Dasein” smacked of those old video games where the music progressively drove you so mad you just played it on mute for the rest of the time.
However, for a completely self-made album, the album shows a level of promise Zamiel would take to fruition on 2012’s excellent and much more straightforward The Third and the Noble (think Xasthur without all that stuff about suicide and depression).
7.5/10
Favorite songs: “Nichts und Schonheit” and “Der Ring Des Cosmos”
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZSHwjKRxz4[/youtube]
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