Unearthing the Metal Underground: Germany’s Nebelkrahe

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Unearthing the Metal Underground: Germany’s Nebelkrahe

Germany has been the home of noteworthy black metal for years, ranging from the more conventional stylings of Nagelfar to the absolutely odd-ball, left-field approach of Tsatthoggua or the more atmospheric and doom-driven material from The Ruins of Beverast. For nearly 20 years, Nebelkrähe has been challenging themselves and what black metal can be. Initially more raw and straightforward, while their early material was good, it was definitely more pedestrian. Over time, an inclination for being more expansive and experimental took hold.

The Munich-based quintet returns now with its most ambitious release to date. The ensemble’s third album, “ephemer,” was released on October 27 via Crawling Chaos Records on CD and vinyl. The album marries rough black metal aesthetics with soothing, melodic instrumentation, leveraged with instruments that are atypical to the genre like the cello, harmonica, accordion, and wind instruments. Songs like “Nielandsmann” and the title track are striking emotionally with their pronounced folk metal inclinations. Nebelkrähe isn’t for everyone, but the German band is worth the attention of black metal fans who are looking for bands who are okay with coloring outside of the lines.