Porta Nigra – Weltende (Fin de siècle Black Metal)
Is there another way to say “this one blew me away?” Well that rhymed so start with that, I suppose. No, I shall not! I shall not! Now and again a promo is so accurate in its description of a band it’s immediately obvious you’re about to hit upon something unique. Focusing on fin de siècle culture, for one, is something I don’t believe I’ve ever seen before, and if you know what that even is your loins are hereby soiled. Musically, Porta Nigra are just this; a celebration of the end of an era, the end of naivety, the end of human-before-machine, the end of life. Dark, yet corybantic, Weltende, if your first introduction to this band, is a world-ruiner. Meaning, quite simply, you can’t listen to anything else after this.
There’s an amazing amount of variety here, considering the standard forms that Porta Nigra plays with are well-established. In spite of the foundations they’re coming from, you’re going to find it hard to compare any of this to what’s come before. That might seem like an overstatement, because the general approach feels familiar, yet is so different a thorough listen will change that opinion entirely. Fin de siècle encapsulates exactly what this is about, as well as the band’s own tag of “decadent dark metal.” Weltende is ominous, the vocals carrying that New Wave German black metal dominance that could probably start World War III with flak cannons. They slay by experimenting, they experiment by slaying, they spread like a gas that degrades gas mask filters, they chop into the head like a trench shovel. There’s so much to find herein that speaks of the end of innocence I’ll leave it at that and let you discover for yourselves.
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Porta Nigra – Weltende
Soulseller Records
Cover Art: Käthe Kollwitz
4.7 / 5
