Creolized languages are said to be the result of a brutal clash between two seemingly incompatible cultures. Folterkammer have certainly taken this gamble, unscrupulously mixing relatively conformist black metal with a Bel Canto straight out of an Italian opera… sung in German!
The result works surprisingly well. The tracks, though underpinned by guitar tremolos and blast beats irreverent, are finely composed over harmonic marches that testify to a knowledge of the classical repertoire and its mechanisms. The occasional harpsichord breakthrough amplifies the baroque atmosphere, as do some surprising bursts of virtuosity on the bass. An ideal backdrop for the vocal delirium superimposed upon it.
For it is the voice that steals the show. Moving with ease from shrill screams to the most masterful lyrical vocals, without forgetting all the possible liberties between these two poles, this voice dominates and gives life to the tracks. In the narrative, Andromeda Anarchia plays the role of a dominatrix at the height of her power. It’s this narrative that allows her to infuse the album with a theatricality that’s truly felt in its context;
With this second opus, Folterkammer may well be crystallizing a new sub-genre, just when we thought we’d exhausted all combinations of extreme metal and classical music. Here, we’re treated to something fresh and new.
