Review by Dominik on May 1, 2026.

I understand anyone who looks at my homeland, Germany, with a healthy amount of skepticism. Yes, we're the proud "Exportweltmeister" ("World Champions in Export"), but half the things we export feel like elaborate practical jokes, while we insist they're improvements. We've turned bureaucracy into a service industry, complete with forms that require other forms to unlock, preferably sent via fax, a technology we've been heroically keeping alive for five decades now. We spread the idea that fun needs to be earned. It is allowed, of course, but only after work, after planning, after approval, and ideally scheduled two weeks in advance. Add to this our impeccable work ethic, complete with burnout combo packs, which include perfectionism, fear of making mistakes and pride in suffering efficiently, and you've got a pretty accurate picture. I can relate. But there is at least one exception to all of this. One "product" that actually justifies its existence without requiring a signature: German black metal. Wars may not have been started over it (yet), but it has certainly caused enough emotional collateral damage to qualify.

With "Sumpf Der Fäule" ("Swamp Of Decay"), the fourth album by Hangatyr, we're dealing with yet another reminder that, occasionally against all odds, and possibly against several regulations, this country gets something very right and produces something genuinely, unapologetically brilliant. Three things for me stand out immediately on what is, without much debate, the band's strongest release so far.

First: the guitars. From about the two-minute mark, it becomes crystal clear that they carry the entire atmospheric weight of the album. There are no keyboards trying to sneak in and soften the edges and no ambient filler pretending to be depth. It is just riff after riff, packed with melody but rarely with anything resembling optimism. I didn't find anything remotely uplifting, as these riffs are drenched in frustration, tension, and the kind of emotional fatigue that feels eerily familiar if you've ever tried to book a German doctor's appointment or you've been standing in the wrong line at a government office for 45 minutes.

Second: the vocals, which may be divisive. I get it that there will be people who find them a bit too dramatic. At times, they flirt with theatricality in a way that might remind some of earlier Grabnebelfürsten material. But honestly, that's exactly why they work. The mix of near-spoken passages and emotionally charged delivery mirrors the guitar work almost perfectly. Sometimes imploring, sometimes irritated, sometimes sounding like the last shred of patience just snapped, the vocals guide you through lyrics that avoid the usual black metal clichés. Instead of recycled blasphemy, we get something far more uncomfortable: accusation. "Sumpf Der Fäule" is an album that points fingers, including at you, the listener. A case in point is "Fatales Gedeih" (something like "Baleful Bloom"). The song deals with humanity's obsession for growth at any cost and shows our bleak path toward the inevitable collapse. It feels grounded and gives me a consistent sense that whatever damage has been done is irreversible, and the album doesn't bother to pretend otherwise.

The third standout aspect is the production which hits a sweet spot that many bands aim for, and few achieve. It finds that rare balance between abrasive and polished. Everything sounds sharp and aggressive, but never muddy or overwhelming. The details remain intact, which is crucial given how much is going on in the guitar work. It's clean enough to appreciate, but raw enough to still hurt.

The album isn't flawless, though. The opener and closer, while strong tracks, don't quite reach the same heights as the material in between. "Dämmerung" ("Dusk") in particular drags a bit. The band usually excels at knowing when to shift gears or introduce a new idea, but here they miss the right moment to pivot. The song drifts instead of evolving. The explosive midsection almost redeems everything, but its outro meanders like a meeting that should have been an email, and the ending wanders off like it forgot what it was trying to say.

Where "Sumpf Der Fäule" truly shines is in its core stretch. "Eine Wahrheit" ("A Truth") is a standout track, which balances relentless, whirring riffing with a vocal performance that feels increasingly desperate. Around the three-minute mark, there's a shift, which is subtle but devastating, where the delivery alone suggests that whatever truth is being conveyed, it's already too late to matter as everything is beyond saving. The band's use of tempo changes here is incredibly natural and effective and enhances the emotional impact further. "Leichenmahl" ("Corpse Feast") deserves a special mention as well, particularly its second half. It begins as a strong mid-tempo piece and gradually escalates into something far more unsettling. The interplay between the increasingly intense instrumentation and the vocals which hover in this strange space between disgust and fascination, works perfectly. This absolutely fits the song's theme, which is a critique of how media packages and serves up real-world horror for our easy consumption.

My absolute standouts arrive with "Es Webe Nacht" (something like "Night Spreads Its Shroud") and "Fatales Gedeih". The former begins slowly, but majestically. The haunting guitars create an epic, even elegiac atmosphere, supported by the vocalist who sparsely adds his part, and mostly lets the music breathe, which erupts into blast beats, just to move back to slower, more reflective parts effortlessly without losing cohesion. The latter is arguably the album's most accessible track, though "accessible" here still means emotionally draining and musically dense. It showcases how melodic black metal can be both gripping and musically sharp without drifting into cheesiness or full-on depressive territory and cheap sentimentality.

What's perhaps most surprising is how the album handles its length. With songs stretching between six and ten minutes, you'd expect moments of fatigue. Instead, "Sumpf Der Fäule" remains consistently engaging, demanding attention but rewarding it generously. You will require a few listens to fully appreciate all nuances, but unlike wrestling with German paperwork, the effort actually pays off.

Rating: 9.1 out of 10, because this album for me proves an important point. Germany may excel at overcomplicating many things, but we still know how to channel that same obsessive precision into something genuinely powerful and impressive. In this case, the result is an album that delivers a level of consistency, atmosphere, and emotional weight that more than justifies the investment of your time. What may be more important though, that it makes you forget that somewhere out there, a fax machine is still screaming for attention.

Review by Felix on June 27, 2024.

Ha, it took three days, but now that I have found the “Ú” in my laptop, I can start to write the first review for (yes!) Úlfarr’s first length. At the same time, I beg your pardon that the review is not written in Old English, although the lyrics of “Orlegsceaft” revitalize this form of English. But my modern English is bad enough and you can get a review in Deutsch if you really want, but not in Old English. So it goes without saying that I cannot say something about the lyrics, but there is another language I understand – the language of black metal. Úlfarr celebrate it in its purest form with hardly varying, extremely raw vocals, they reduce the style on its essentials, they perform their songs passionately and the artwork sends greetings to "Blasfemia Eternal", the strong Ancient Rites album from 1996. Is there anything else one can demand? I don’t think so.

Just take the sinister high velocity devastator called “Trollblót“ (needless to say that I needed two further days until I had found the „ó“). Its flow is nearly perfect, because it has such a natural feeling that it has to be exactly the way it is. The smooth yet hellish approach of the song is as irresistible as the best flowing tracks of Darkthrone on „Ravishing Grimness“ (which is a great work from my point of view) and the riffing is also not too far away from this album. The riff after the break at 4:20 is not only absolutely fantastic, it also underlines the affinity for Darkthrone as well. Due to the nearly absurdly throaty vocals, there is also some „Transylvanian Hunger“ represented in the sound of Úlfarr – I can definitely imagine worse references. Or put the focus on “Wælgæst wæfre”. (Hooray, I had used “æ” already before, it was no problem to find it!) Its seven minutes are filled to the brim with aggressive, explosive eruptions. But there are also nearly thoughtful sections and they and some mid-paced parts develop depth and despair. The song shows impressively the talent of the band to give its songs the right quantum of melodies and, even better, the guys are able to write very strong, expressive melody lines.

Admittedly, “Orlegsceaft” does not consist of highlights exclusively. Some tracks are robust and solid without meeting the highest expectations. They do not lack substance and show no signs of obvious weakness, they just have to accept that they cannot fully compete with the best tracks here. So one can sit down with a good drink and press the start button or guide the needle to the record – there is no song that will hurt the comfortable scenario. The production is also nothing one has to fear. I do not know whether there is some national black metal guide line, but the sound of the album is comparable with those of Frosten’s and Hellvelyn’s debuts. Nuances are missing, maybe the guitars could sound a bit sharper, but come on, it is a pretty simple yet adequate and vigorous sound. Unfortunately I cannot hear the bass guitar, but I am not able to say whether this is a weakness of the production or a consequence I have to suffer after more than 40 years of metal consumption. Either way, Úlfarr’s full-length debut continues the sound of their EPs and deserves respect and attention.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10