Melkor is a being from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Silmarillion", which was created by a god Eru Ilúvatar. Melkor turned against its creator and became the first Dark Lord and master of Sauron, Morgoth. A bit like a fallen angel, if you will. Melkor is also a German black metal band. And "Irrlicht" means will-o'-the-wisp, the ghostly light sometimes seen at night over swamp and bog areas. Melkor aren't death metal like its countrymates Morgoth, but a black metal band.

Melkor is a one-man band, but it differs a lot from those "bedroom black metallers" that aren't at all a rare breed. 'Irrlicht' is the second full-length album and marks the band's 10th anniversary. It consists of eight songs, that are between 4½ and 11½ minutes. Main lyrical themes seem to be, as far as I understand German language, nature. However, that's partly just metaphorically. Light is a thig of beauty and joy, but there's so much pain and darkness in a human life. So, this is not about Tolkien tales.

As is common nowadays, Melkor aren't doing just old school, true black metal. Melkor are of rather epic branch of it all, after the more aggressive 'Ferne' (2009). Here, Melkor are more mid-paced. Drawings influences mostly from Nordic acts, the general atmosphere is cold and eerie. The opening song 'Spiegelwand' starts with familiar tremolo picking that has a very earthy and epic feel. Right from the start it is melodic, and it gets even more melodic during its 7 minutes of duration. It also gets melancholic in vein of older Katatonia (think of 'Brave Murder Day' [1996]). Now this definitely sticks to brain! 'Die Welle erneuert sich' consists of even more melancholic feels. It also introduces some classical music composition. And epicness must not be forgotten.

The title track gets nastier. While being grandiloquent, it's also more evil. It distantly reminds of Satyricon's 'Mother North'. At over 3-minute mark there's classical acoustic guitar stuff, which builds up into poem-like narration, a bit like another German act Sun Of The Sleepless. Harsh 'Pangaea' and 'Des Berges Schweigen' are very Nordic in their nature. Same can be said about 'In den welken Wäldern' and 'Opferlamm ', which heavily reminds of older Borgnagar, especially 'The Olden Domain' (1997), having similar guitar melodies and playing. The former mixes distorted and acoustic guitar together, while the latter being the shortest song here, isn't without epicness. The ending song 'The Great Defender' is another earthy piece. In it harshness, grandiosity and melancholic beauty are bound.

Electronic guitars are heavily distorted, but not very resounding. That aspect comes from booming drums and reverbed vocals. The vocals are about parched throat voice. The drums are pretty surely programmed, but well done as that. Synthesizer is utilized. Mostly it is about "mat" kind of sound, but also some piano is heard.

Melkor sound both German and Nordic. 'Irrlicht' can easily be recommended for those, who want their black metal both harsh and epic, without forgetting the melancholic aspect. It's hardly uneasy to listen to, but more like beckoning. The album is rather versatile, but never too much so. Its nothing groundbreaking, but still interesting enough.

Rating: 6½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
04/26/2015 20:07