Ellende - Ellenbogengesellschaft

Angry Metal Guy 80

As we head into the final part of 2022, let’s acknowledge a universal truth: people are struggling. With many major economies teetering on the brink of recession, with inflation and energy prices soaring, with human rights being stripped rather than expanded, we’re seeing people having to work harder and harder for less and less. With resources limited and the hope that tomorrow will be a better day fading, our societies are becoming ever more insular and competitive, fighting over the scraps available. In the process, are we losing our humanity? Is this environment we find ourselves in eroding our souls? This is the lofty theme of Austrian black metal outfit Ellende’s fourth album, Ellenbogengesellschaft. Literally, “Elbow Society,” (but more accurately, “Dog-Eat-Dog Society”) this collection examines the cost our current living is taking on our souls. If this sounds something ripe for an absolute roar of black metal fury, prepare for a surprise. While Ellende are plenty angry, there is a lot more here than simply waving a fist at the sky, old-man style. And it’s something you definitely want to check out.

If much of post-black metal maintains a chilly distance from its listeners, Ellende has always—for better or worse—worn its emotions on its sleeve. And these emotions are some of the most mournful in all of black metal. The problem in the past was that the execution was lacking, which dulled the impact. Shifts on previous albums were inelegant and clunky, sapping momentum; the interludes were intrusive; the fuzzy production obscured rather than highlighted. But with every new release, Ellende have been honing and improving their craft, and Ellenbogengesellschaft finds the band finally cracking the code. It does this by maintaining Ellende’s core features, while adding in choral vocals, gentle cleans, and guest appearances. They’ve also cleaned up the production. This allows the raw emotions to finally penetrate and settle, where previously they glanced off.

Ellenbogengesellschaft by Ellende

The real star of Ellenbogengesellschaft is how successfully the songwriting conveys the album’s core themes. The fury and fire are righteous and crushing, but they serve the purpose of emphasizing the sense of loss and sadness of the quieter moments. When the songs go for it, the riffs hit hard (“Ruhelos” featuring fellow Austrian JJ from Harakiri for the Sky, “Freier Fall” with its soaring melodies over ferocious blast beats), but it’s all in service of the overall mournful (but not self-pitying) tone. The songs walk the fine line of being expansive but never outstaying their welcome, and are sequenced in a dynamic and logical way, allowing listeners to catch their breath before the next emotional hit. They also benefit hugely from the production and mixing by Empyrium’s Markus Stock, which allows them space to swirl and settle. The overall feeling is one of balance and harmony, which is like the best punch to the gut you’ve ever felt.

Sometimes with post-metal, the downtimes drag while you wait to get to the next “good bit.” This has certainly been the case with previous Ellende albums. Here, the situation is reversed. The slower, less traditionally black metal sections are many of the highlights. These reflective sections are now seamlessly integrated, and the addition of choral singing is a revelation, pushing the feels without ever sounding cloying or contrived. Witness the astonishing build-up in “Some Day,” which is as cathartic as anything you’ve heard this month; the gorgeous guitar punctuating the middle of “Hand aufs Hertz” like birdsong in the morning; the stunning chorals at the end of “Ruhelos”… The list goes on. Ellenbogengellschaft is packed with meaningful and impactful highlights that go straight for the solar plexus.

Ellengogengesellschaft’s cover is different from its predecessors. Ellende has typically favored the “mournful skeleton”: playing a cello (Todsbringer), kneeling over a fallen comrade (Lebensnehmer), riding a horse (Triebe). The band logo was etched in the classic metal style, all in keeping with the classic tropes. Here, we have an anthropomorphized boar, finely dressed, staring us in the eye, with the band logo in plain letters. This is a band confident in its sound and its message. So what does it mean? This gorgeously mournful collection gives no easy answers, but the heart-wrenching video of “Abshied”—which shows a woman struggling to take care of her dying father—may provide some clues. Sometimes, basic acts of kindness are all we can manage. Maybe that’s enough. Even when it’s hard and hope is faint. Especially when hope is faint.



Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: AOP Records
Website: ellende.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: September 30th, 2022

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