The modern landscape of black metal has always been and will continue to be a sight to behold in virtually every way no matter what kind of fan you are. The fact that we’re still able to get a constant stream of releases from bands new and old that manage to both perpetuate the original sound that the genre started off with while still forging new paths to keep things fresh and exciting is a gift that I don’t think some of us appreciate enough especially when the former comes into play. You can always make the argument that a tried-and-true formula is something that can get boring, but it’s always in the right hands that anything can become so much more than what many of us might come to expect. When it comes to bands like Ziegenhorn, you always run a gamble that a new name as such would sound too much like its predecessors thus sounding unoriginal and, therefore, boring. But, with what Ziegenhorn has brought forth for its first full-length creation, I find myself being faced with something I’m compelled to call the closest to a best-case scenario that we can get.

By all means and under every circumstance, what’s been brought forth here in these ten tracks is far from what any of us would consider new in any regard whatsoever. Very much so channeling from the classic veins of the underground that have been the pillars of that world since its inception, one wrong move could have spelled disaster for Ziegenhorn in the making of “Blut & Kaos”, but it’s through a clear passion for the style alongside a vast wealth of knowledge of what it takes to make a worthwhile performance of the style we’re met with an effort that is as far as one could be from a weak effort. Overflowing with speed and more than a few cues from the world of death and thrash metal to really inject all sorts of intensity into the creation, “Blut & Kaos” is the exact blasphemy that many desire from those who draw from the classic veins of black metal with only the most versed in that madness able to bring forth anything close to what we’ve been presented with here. Not a single soul is left behind given the lack of mercy that Ziegenhorn wields at any given time throughout this vast, brutal offensive with every ending of the album coercing you to restart the assault all over again for it is downright infectious in its riffage, unrelenting in its clear power, and fueled by a hellish flame that I don’t think any of us have the right to deny.

The very essence of “Blut & Kaos” is what many come to agree as what the best of black metal should bring forth, and I cannot help but feel as though this record truly has checked off all the right boxes and delivered an overall creation that’s as fiery, potent, and deadly as one could ask for in this realm. Given the history of the band members and the work that they have accomplished in other bands, it shouldn’t come across as a surprise that Ziegenhorn has crafted something as beastly as this, yet that doesn’t detract in a single shred what’s been done here. If anything, it greatly enhances all that “Blut & Kaos” is.

LISTEN to “Blut & Kaos” on Bandcamp here.

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