Review by Alex on April 11, 2020.

Can't get the melody of 'Sundalschlacht' out my head, so I thought, if this is what Hohenstein promises then I'm all ears. And what became of their first album?, a spell of sonic beauty all the while a mid-paced battle march of axe, claw, dagger, sword and shield. But not limited to or the only features of Weisser Hirsch. From the serene sounds of nature driving the acoustic 'Brøhn', to the boiling temperature of the album's opening moments on 'Kriegsvintar', Weisser Hirsch paints within its organic fabric, the sounds taken for granted daily to the point of being ignored and foolishly destroyed. The siren of birds chirping, streams flowing and nature itself towards a forlorn species undeserving of such benevolence. Hohenstein bring to the front the immense marvel that is nature alongside the devastating blow of death and war.

All of Weisser Hirsch is mid-paced, leaning towards the doom side of metal that works out if you consider the themes on the album. This pacing helps greatly in communicating the message of atmosphere beit dim, bright or melancholic as on 'Grüner Altar', 'Ewige Flamme' and 'Runenkrieger' of which absorb and leaves the listener no choice, but to stay until the final track is played. This is what you want from an atmospheric album, a collection of songs which flow with graceful momentum, delivering on a relevant, concise and thematically composite and engaging experience.

Weisser Hirsch is tailored for the slow and steady, it shows to the listener it has no intentions of hasty movements and goes about its business un-bothered about its pacing, arm in arm with nature, melancholy, beatitude and bitterness.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Alex on April 11, 2020.

Can't get the melody of 'Sundalschlacht' out my head, so I thought, if this is what Hohenstein promises then I'm all ears. And what became of their first album?, a spell of sonic beauty all the while a mid-paced battle march of axe, claw, dagger, sword and shield. But not limited to or the only features of Weisser Hirsch. From the serene sounds of nature driving the acoustic 'Brøhn', to the boiling temperature of the album's opening moments on 'Kriegsvintar', Weisser Hirsch paints within its organic fabric, the sounds taken for granted daily to the point of being ignored and foolishly destroyed. The siren of birds chirping, streams flowing and nature itself towards a forlorn species undeserving of such benevolence. Hohenstein bring to the front the immense marvel that is nature alongside the devastating blow of death and war.

All of Weisser Hirsch is mid-paced, leaning towards the doom side of metal that works out if you consider the themes on the album. This pacing helps greatly in communicating the message of atmosphere beit dim, bright or melancholic as on 'Grüner Altar', 'Ewige Flamme' and 'Runenkrieger' of which absorb and leaves the listener no choice, but to stay until the final track is played. This is what you want from an atmospheric album, a collection of songs which flow with graceful momentum, delivering on a relevant, concise and thematically composite and engaging experience.

Weisser Hirsch is tailored for the slow and steady, it shows to the listener it has no intentions of hasty movements and goes about its business un-bothered about its pacing, arm in arm with nature, melancholy, beatitude and bitterness.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on October 6, 2021.

Nuclear Revenge popped up with their debut in 2019. It was no groundbreaking work, but a really cool album with fast-paced torpedoes at the interface between thrash and black metal. With that said, I gladly received the news that they return with their second full-length. Dawn Of The Primitive Age does not show a new side of the Basques. Instead, they stick to their guns. The word “primitive” often has a negative connotation. So one might say it does not describe the songs fittingly; nevertheless, the band concentrates on simple, straight and speedy outbursts. Unfortunately, some tracks suffer from a few details. For example the opener loses a lot of its strength as soon as the feeble solo sets in. Inter alia 'March Of The Undead' shows that they can do better solo parts.

Nuclear Revenge sound nasty, evil and restless. In 'Dust', the nagging vocalist invites us to “f**k off and die” and this can be understood as the quintessence of his performance. The mangy guitar tone seems to be borrowed from a raw rehearsal tape of old Possessed. It dominates the sound without offering an overdose of variety and therefore the album is not totally immune against monotony. Moreover, the drums and especially the bass guitar have to struggle in order to be heard. Nevertheless, the sheer aggression the mix develops is pretty impressive and aggression is exactly the feature this kind of music needs essentially. I freely admit that I cannot identify an outstanding highlight, but I guess that’s both a blessing and a curse. Maybe with the exception of the opener, all songs reach a more than acceptable quality level. And, by the way, the ten tracks show that the band does not run out of ideas. Guess we all know a lot of albums where this is exactly the case.

If I would be forced to pick out a single song, I would select the epic 'Eyes Of Revelation'. Its riffing at the beginning promises tension and the following speedy rhythms do not disappoint as well. But you must know that the term “epic” must be treated with caution in this context. Be that as it may, this tune illustrates that the dudes are able to present strong mid-tempo sections, too, because they can mostly rely on the expressiveness of their riffs. So from my point of view, Dawn Of The Primitive Age is a good full-length of an honest and likeable formation, no more, no less. Maybe it’s not relevant for some groups of metalheads, but it deserves the attention of every curious black thrash maniac. Hopefully it does not drown in the flood of metal releases we receive every week.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on October 6, 2021.

Nuclear Revenge popped up with their debut in 2019. It was no groundbreaking work, but a really cool album with fast-paced torpedoes at the interface between thrash and black metal. With that said, I gladly received the news that they return with their second full-length. Dawn Of The Primitive Age does not show a new side of the Basques. Instead, they stick to their guns. The word “primitive” often has a negative connotation. So one might say it does not describe the songs fittingly; nevertheless, the band concentrates on simple, straight and speedy outbursts. Unfortunately, some tracks suffer from a few details. For example the opener loses a lot of its strength as soon as the feeble solo sets in. Inter alia 'March Of The Undead' shows that they can do better solo parts.

Nuclear Revenge sound nasty, evil and restless. In 'Dust', the nagging vocalist invites us to “f**k off and die” and this can be understood as the quintessence of his performance. The mangy guitar tone seems to be borrowed from a raw rehearsal tape of old Possessed. It dominates the sound without offering an overdose of variety and therefore the album is not totally immune against monotony. Moreover, the drums and especially the bass guitar have to struggle in order to be heard. Nevertheless, the sheer aggression the mix develops is pretty impressive and aggression is exactly the feature this kind of music needs essentially. I freely admit that I cannot identify an outstanding highlight, but I guess that’s both a blessing and a curse. Maybe with the exception of the opener, all songs reach a more than acceptable quality level. And, by the way, the ten tracks show that the band does not run out of ideas. Guess we all know a lot of albums where this is exactly the case.

If I would be forced to pick out a single song, I would select the epic 'Eyes Of Revelation'. Its riffing at the beginning promises tension and the following speedy rhythms do not disappoint as well. But you must know that the term “epic” must be treated with caution in this context. Be that as it may, this tune illustrates that the dudes are able to present strong mid-tempo sections, too, because they can mostly rely on the expressiveness of their riffs. So from my point of view, Dawn Of The Primitive Age is a good full-length of an honest and likeable formation, no more, no less. Maybe it’s not relevant for some groups of metalheads, but it deserves the attention of every curious black thrash maniac. Hopefully it does not drown in the flood of metal releases we receive every week.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10