Album Review: Kanonenfieber - Die Urkatastrophe
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Few bands have exploded in renown and popularity, namely in black metal circles, has quickly as Kanonenfieber have. The German black metal act, whom have gained an adhering, passionate fanbase in just a few years, play distinctly around the ideas and events of the First World War and the carnal slaughter that catastrophe induced. Formed in 2020 out of Bavaria, Germany, Kanonenfieber is predominantly a one-man band, named only as Noise, who brings along musicians for their live shows, and only a year later erupted into our attention with their first studio album: Menschenmühle. This was a massive release not only for the band but for black metal as a whole for one could not turn their head without seeing this record plastered about. Various EPs followed suit whether they were Yankee Division or Der Füsilier in 2022 respectively or U-Bootsmann last year, however we are now on the precipice of their second full length work: Die Urkatastrophe. Upon learning Kanonenfieber would have a new album I sought to acquire this to check out for myself for the band are one of my new favourites, able to simultaneously capture the visceral edge and barbarism The Great War subjected to millions of its victims. The band’s first album signed on to Century Media Records I was beyond thrilled to give this record a listen and see how the band may continue their trail of successes so far.
Kanonenfieber are another example of a German perspective on global war that you don’t see too often; though there are growing number of outlets that give us an insight on how the Germans viewed either world war, Kanonenfieber’s performance seems to hit us particularly hard and I believe this is partly due to the vocal work. Listening to the vocal delivery throughout the record you don’t merely hear each line as they’re thrown at you but rather they visibly hit you in the face with every syllable, with every roll of the tongue. The band establish themselves as a band decrying the senseless slaughter of so many millions that ultimately didn’t amount to anything in the end, and it’s wrapped up within this vocal performance you feel the pained rage boiling over. You also don’t need to know a shred of German either to understand the emotion flowing here; one could be completely audibly illiterate in comprehending the German language and still feel the the impact the vocal delivery and songwriting has on us. Every word feels sharpened for the kill.
Something that has already given Kanonenfieber their own edge is their tendency to bring their songwriting together for collective melodic sections that really help fuse audiences with chorus sections. It’s throughout these select pieces that you feel the true soul of the band come forth and it’s no wonder why the band are renowned for their live performances either. Though the majority of the songwriting is this blackened, visceral performance that uses blast beats and snarling vocals, Kanonenfieber also understand the importance of bringing everything together to strike at the heart of their audience. Doing so helps bridge the gap between themselves and the listener, and instils a greater concept of identity in each track so repeated listens of Die Urkatastrophe will instantly remind us what kind of vibe each song will bring since the band have ensured there’s something uniquely memorable about each piece we discover. Not everything about the band is dialled towards bludgeoning or piercing displays of violence and it’s already benefitting the band in the few years since they’ve been especially active.
One aspect I think deserves mention is the band’s impeccable sense of bass within the record. When you listen to them play you’ll feel their clenched fist from one track to the next hey the actual riffs and drumming doesn’t feel especially emboldened within the mix at all nor is any specific instrumental piece greater than another. What it is therefore comes down to the bass that’s been infused into every instrumental element of the record so while the mix itself may not be doing overtly special, Die Urkatastrophe still manages to hit like a ton of bricks because each riff and each turn the songwriting has been amplified with a hundred times its original impact strength. It’s why their riffs feel so strong during the collective melodic sequences or when they really slow things down for another buildup or a track’s outer. The bass helps to flex the band’s instrumental presence even when they aren’t playing at their most destructive, and why you can feel the most intricate movements of their guitar work as much as any major chords, and why blast beats feel so attuned to the target that is your entire being.
It’s curious when we remind ourselves Kanonenfieber is a one-man band when the vocal work is often overladen with additional vocal tracks in select places and moments throughout the songwriting. We know the vocals are performed by a single person just as every riff and drum strike and turn of the bass is done by the same person, but periodically throughout the record’s runtime the songwriting will use these collective band vocals to drive home all the harder the delivery’s impact. Again, this is a one-man band so I imagine the reasoning for these collective vocal sequences to be utilised during live shows so when the songwriting requires it, the band can al deliver the same phrase or sentence at the same time because it’s clear when it’s just one voice and when it’s numerous at the same time. However I could also state this is another way the band infer immersion too for their record is littered with ambience, with audio clips of whistles blowing, trenches dug, faraway artillery fire etc. The band do more than simply play metal about the war; they actively place you amongst its deathly deluge, surrounding you at every second the grim reality millions had to accept every waking day of their lives. This is likely why the record was written with collective vocals in mind: to further immerse us within the band’s soundscape so that when this material does get performed live there’s no fragility in the translation from studio work to live material.
In conclusion, I found Die Urkatastrophe leans harder towards a Melodic Black Metal style than their previous full length outing was willing to do, but that’s not a detriment to Kanonenfieber’s performance here since what was clearly being worked upon throughout Menschenmühle has been refined and worked upon for the release of this work. Closing things out with a wondrously morose and mourning acoustic piece, Kanonenfieber only continue to demonstrate their worth and the unique stature they currently hold within the modern sphere of black metal. Their soundscape is clearly blackened but the impact they strike is with is nowhere near as visceral or punishing to listen as most acts would attempt; it’s evident that Kanonenfieber wanted to establish a soundscape that could swallow up as many people as it could and immerse them fully within the ambient elements that the band are known for including. It’s impressive to note how how this album is made by a single person, and how it can then be rendered fully ready for live performances with multiple musicians roped in for such employment. While I think Menschenmühle is still the stronger record of the two full lengths now made by the band, Die Urkatastrophe is still a vastly prominent record worth checking out in black metal circles and can make nearly an hour of time race by like nothing.
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