The Bavarian Freitod arrive, with Der Unsichtbare Begleiter, to their third full length during a career that has given them, at least in their homeland, a good notoriety. The duo composed by Gerd Eisenlauer and Robert Seyferth offers a post black rather elegant and not even too harsh and, despite the explicit moniker (freitod in German means suicide), the depressive component never borders on a paroxysmal despair as in the more canonical dsbm. The songs refer, rather, to the unrepeatable Katatonia of Tonight’s Decision / Discouraged Ones, with the addition of a black component that manifests itself mostly in coincidence of the parts sung in scream by Seyferth; on the other hand, most of the songs are conducted by the educated voice of Eisenlauer, which enhances the trend painful and good melodic afflatus. The use of lyrics in the mother tongue makes it difficult for those who do not know it, what seems to be a crucial aspect in the work of Freitod (at least trusting the opinions expressed by German colleagues) even if, for personal taste, the Teutonic idiom matches better than many others for impact and metrics to this type of sound from dark and decadent traits. Der Unsichtbare Begleiter is not an essential work, but it is undeniable that Freitod know their stuff, putting on the plate a compositional vein pleasantly accessible (especially in the beautiful Unter Schwarzen Wolken and in the Katunian Mirta) and this means that the work is still assimilated with a certain satisfaction. The fact remains that, by its nature, this disc seems to have all the trappings to get good feedback in the domestic market, but risking to be relegated to the background outside the borders of the country.

2016 – Ván Records