Schatten Muse are a band from Berlin/Athens whose sound the press release states is mainly influenced by electronic underground music of the 1980s and 1990s, especially with regards to NDT (New German Death Art). Schicksalsweg (Fateful Path in English)was released last year and brings together nine tracks of darkness.
The album has a simple, repetitive, and often addictive quality to its music. Sometimes sounding like a soundscape such as with 'Vergangen' and closing trio 'Es Stirbt Ein Teil Von Mir', 'Verlorene Seelen', and 'Zerrissenheit'. Music is by Shelmerdine, with all vocals/lyrics coming from Sylvia Fürst, and the lyrics are different to what you might expect. A lot of the time the vocals are more of a narration or incantation. I don't know German so the words mean nothing to me, but with the atmospheric music it sounded like a spell being spoken. Looking back to the press release it states the lyrical concept is about '...darkness, melancholy, isolation, philosophy of life and death, solitude, madness, depression, desperation, surrealism, expressionism, (and) existential philosophy...'.
The music remained simple throughout, such as the pulsating drumbeats on opener track 'Angst', and the piano led 'Fluss Des Lebens'. Second track 'Illusion' with its atmospheric Silent Hill mist-world type sound began a trip-hop sound that followed on to my favourite track 'Transzendenz' with a Depeche Mode vibe to it and that title constantly being spoken. The only other track to mention on the forty one minute album is the mournful 'Charlotte Manchmal', a track that I quite enjoyed.
I wouldn't say this genre of music is one I would say I'm a giant fan of, but I still did enjoy what I heard here. I felt this was better with tracks which felt more like isolated songs, rather than some of the later ones that became a bit abstract and soundscape like to my ears. There was plenty to like here, so I am glad I gave Schatten Muse's Schickalsweg a listen.
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