Endstille: Kapitulation 2013
When a band comes around like Germany’s Endstille, you have to mentally and physically prepare yourself for the next hour of merciless and unforgiving auditory assault leaving you angry and wishing you bought that katana on Amazon so you can chop whatever you can find in your backyard. Kapitulation 2013, the most recent release by Endstille, is the soundtrack and raw, brutal, war-themed black metal is the product as watermelons are publicly mutilated on your driveway at the displeasure of your neighbors.
Kapitulation 2013 is Endstille’s eighth album in their thirteen years of existence. They play black metal with a lyrical focus on war and the effects of war with a hint of anti-Christianity. With pounding drums, furious guitars, and harsh, unrelenting vocals, they tread a path that Swedish black-metallers have made before such as Marduk and Dark Funeral. The song titles and album cover would suggest a pro-fascist or at least political theme but as stated in interviews, they believe that black metal is in itself a genre that is set apart from politics so do not let that stop you from trying them out.
The album starts off with the track “Aborted” and it holds nothing back and goes straight into the maliciousness that is black metal with blast beats, droning, yet sinister guitars, muddy bass, and tortured vocals. Zingultus – formerly of Nagelfar, recently joined as a full member on their 7th album and is a welcome addition to the lineup as his vocal performance is perfectly suited for their sound. They even cover Sodom’s “Blasphemer” which is a surprising addition but it adds good variety to the overall arrangement of the album.
While the aggression and dark atmosphere are indeed present, creativity is not as it begins to sound like some riffs have been recycled and the songs begin to blur together. There is no better way to describe it than monotonous, which coincides with the fact that they have a track called “Monotonous 2013”. This extends throughout the rest of the album except for their standout track, “Stalin Note” which is by far their best as it is probably the most original and savage song on the album. “Kapitulation 2013” is visceral, rampaging, and well represents their lyrical focus of war and could have been great with more experimentation and creativity. Their album description on Season of Mist’s website says they deliberately created monotonous guitars but doing this throughout the entire album does not lead to success. If you’re a diehard fan of Swedish metal similar to Marduk, this should be on your wishlist.
Written by Cole Olson
Endstille: Kapitulation 2013
Season of Mist
3.5 / 5
