Geheimnisvoll: Venomous Sorcery Through Hidden Darkness (2019)

Okay, then.  "Geheimnisvoll" is apparently German (obviously) for mysterious or arcane.  I suppose it is an apt name then, because the music on this release is certainly dark.  I picked this one up after seeing it reviewed in an issue of Decibel recently.  I do not frequently do that anymore, but I liked the description and due to my recent obsession with lo-fi black metal, I went out and grabbed it.

I cannot find much information out there about Geheimnisvoll, not even which country the band hails from.  It does appear to be a one-man raw black metal project.  Certainly not unusual.  This is a four-song demo, though it is not easy to determine when one song ends and the next begins.  If listening to it as background noise, it sounds like just one 20-minute long song. 

The influences on Geheimnisvoll are obvious.  The songs are fairly lengthy, composed of one or two riffs almost endlessly repeating and vocals delivered in incomprehensible shrieking.  Early Burzum and Transilvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone are the reference points. 

This is not a terribly original sound, and yet, despite that the release is entrancing.  It builds an impressively dark atmosphere even in its simplicity.  This is lo-fi, raw black metal done right.  It belongs on a playlist with other groups in this vein, such as Drowning the Light, one of my favorite current black metal bands.  I'm anxious to hear more.