Rauhnåcht - Zwischenwelten

Angry Metal Guy

For the uninitiated, Rauhnåcht isn’t just a one-man, pagan black metal band—it’s the time between worlds as one year transitions to the next.¹ This is a quiet, contemplative period drenched in folklore, when the veil between unseen, spiritual worlds and our own is thinnest, the Wild Hunt prowls the night skies, and furry, horned beasties trudge through snowcapped, picturesque villages trading offerings for luck and warding off evil. Rauhnåcht’s latest offering, Zwischenwelten, poetically translates to “the worlds between worlds,” and posits reality as a series of crossroads between antitheses, creating worlds unto themselves. Though much of reality is defined in black and white, we all exist in shades of gray. Do Zwischenwelten’s high-minded ruminations manifest in the music, or do they get lost in translation?

Zwischenwelten by Rauhnächt

Rauhnåcht’s oeuvre consistently melds black metal with folk trappings. Man-behind-the-curtain Stefan Traunmüller employs a broad assortment of instruments in Zwischenwelten to charming effect, ensuring that while you’ve almost certainly heard distorted tremolos over blast beats before, there are twists here that keep the style fresh and unique. The sum total rubs elbows with Saor and Árstíðir Lífsins without imitating either. Zwischenwelten is Rauhnåcht’s fifth album overall and the first proper metal release since Grier reviewed Unterm Gipfelthron at the tail end of 2018.² After listening to previous albums, it’s clear that Zwischenwelten is the darkest thus far. Shedding the most ebullient facets of Unterm Gipfelthron, Zwischenwelten cuts to the core and delivers an album unmistakably black metal forward. Despite that, the folk rudiments still exist; they’re just more inconspicuously assembled in this eclectic yet coherent package.

Each song on Zwischenwelten is punctuated with subtle and evocative moments. From the accordion’s airy hum in “Das Mark des Lebens” (The Marrow of Life) that conjures a fleeting, sleepy respite against freezing gusts, to the twinkle of a glockenspiel suggesting bright, piercing stars in a clear night sky (“Der Spalt zwischen den Welten” [The Gap between the Worlds]), Rauhnåcht vividly infuses traditional folk instruments into second wave fury. The vocals are a varied affair, with standard black metal screams and howls mixed with cleans that could have been pulled straight from Fear Factory’s Obsolete (“Eines Tages Seid Ihr Frei” [One Day You Will Be Free]). Throughout Zwischenwelten, choral chanting ebbs and flows (“Der Spalt zwischen den Welten,” “Das Mark des Lebens”), serving as a restrained musical theme that culminates in closer “Alleinsamkeit” (Solitude). Throughout the final track, blackened rasps trade lines with gang and choral chanting and singing, vaguely reminiscent of the interplay from “Duel of the Fates.” Through most of the song, there’s a back and forth, with tension building between half-step transitions and minor harmonies. Near the end, the two parts coalesce into a united refrain, playing in concert rather than at odds. It’s a beautiful resolution that took me several listens to pick up on, but once revealed, it was a delight to have discovered.

There’s much to unravel in the tangled knot that Rauhnåcht delivers. Zwischenwelten is protective of its secrets, but patient listeners are rewarded with a cohesive and introspective journey. Perhaps a victim of its own seamlessness, Zwischenwelten requires multiple listens to unfold, presenting a deceptively long time investment despite the reasonable forty-one-minute runtime. From the fuzzy synth pangs and flute accompaniment in “Naturgewalten” (Forces of Nature) to the black ‘n’ roll bop near the end of “Letzter Pfad” (Last Path), the variety and interweaving of disparate elements is ambitious and well-executed. Yet its understated nature makes it elusive without a focused, active listen, and could go unappreciated by more casual audiences. Another minor gripe is that occasionally the distinctive features (like the accordion in “Das Mark des Lebens”) appear in a pocket outside the black metal onslaught, but never integrate fully like the chanting in “Alleinsamkeit.” On its own, this is hardly worth a mention. Given the theme of Zwischenwelten and embracing the gray in worlds between black and white, we sometimes glimpse the extremes of sonic spectrums without a clear picture of the intersection, which feels like a missed opportunity.

Though Rauhnåcht has been absent from proper metal albums for nearly seven years, the intervening time was put to effective use. Rauhnåcht operates in a world between worlds, bound in a layered nexus of dichotomous spheres: meditative and aggressive, harsh and tender, universal and intimate. For anyone with a passing interest in black metal, and certainly anyone who enjoys folk with it, Zwischenwelten demands a listen. This is an album that requires attentiveness to appreciate it, but it is well worth the investment and a great demonstration of what a polished concept can sound like in black metal.

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s CBR MP3
Label: Antiq
Websites: Zwischenwelten Bandcamp | Rauhnåcht Bandcamp³ | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: August 25th, 2025

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