Make Black Metal Depressive Again with Tardigrada's 'Emotionale Ödnis'

When Swiss black metal act Tardigrada first surfaced in 2012, it was sudden and unexpected. Their demo cassette, Widrstand, was released on Fallen Empire Records and became a cult hit almost instantly. With a flurry of dense guitars and shrill vocals, it was almost a nod to the atmospheric mastery of their countrymen in Paysage d'Hiver while never feeling like an imitation. Then, save for a single track contributed to the label's SVN OKKLT compilation the following year, the band ceased to record new material. Little reason was given and live performances were infrequent at best.

Now, after four years, Tardigrada has deemed the world ready for its full-length debut. Stretching just over an hour in length, Emotionale Ödnis delivers all the atmosphere we've come to expect from the band's short history and adds a touch of grief that was previously unexplored. There's a stunning balance of depressive melody and pure coldness that allow the band to illuminate their own sorrowful songs while retaining integrity and spirit. The album's production may be a step up from the demo in clarity, yet none of the band's edge is sacrificed. Instead, a crispness is added to the songs, punctuating the emotive characteristics rather than scrubbing them away. It's not necessarily comforting, but the depth of the compositions tends to make for a buffer against the pain instead of an outright salve.

Bridging each melancholic offering is a gentle reprieve. These interludes, simply titled "I," "II," and so forth, provide the appropriate structural diversion to carry the listener from the density of songs like "Erschöpft" to the otherworldly beauty of the title track without the album ever buckling under its own weight. Emotionale Ödnis will be released in the United States on Fallen Empire Records​, digitally via the band's own Bandcamp​ page, and internationally on Eisenwald​ this Friday, October 28. You can listen to the album in its entirety now while you brace yourself for the darker months ahead.

Ben Handelman is staying cold on Twitter​.