Year: 2024
Label: Aorta
Austrian Allerseelen are one of those enigmatic and perplexing artists, who are incredibly difficult to pin down into any one genre or form of expression. Even when their albums retain a certain stylistic approach, it is next to impossible to namedrop genres and be done with it.
I have a game with my offspring. I will put on some music and ask them what genre of music it is, without showing them what is playing. Quite often they will get it right, too. When I put on Toteninsel, Allerseelen’s newest album, they listened to it for a while, growing ever more confused. And, finally: “I want to say this is neofolk, but this isn’t neofolk. It’s some kind of neofolk adjacent stuff.”
Could they have been more right? I think not. I admit that I was even a bit amazed, because there I sat thinking that they’ll never in a million years guess it.
Undeniably, Allerseelen is “neofolk adjacent” in so many ways. They have been part of the same musical current as many neofolk/apocalyptic folk artists, have collaborated with neofolk artists and concern themselves with very similar themes.
And though they musically aren’t neofolk at least in any conventional sense, somehow Allerseelen feels neofolk. And of course, neofolk is so much more than acoustic guitars and windchimes.
So, how to describe Allerseelen and Toteninsel musically, then? To go against what I said before, let’s approach it by dropping genre names.
There is a definite industrial element in the song structures here. There is a lot of repetition of an almost looping kind, even though there is actual instrumentation here. Take for example second track Grubenpferd, with a repetitive rhythmic pattern and bass line, which repeat throughout the track without much in terms of modulation. It sounds like it could be spliced together from a brief, looped instrumental sample even when it isn’t.
And the bass. On many tracks, it is in a very pronounced role. Often it is the bass that carries the melodies of the tracks, with the other instruments providing more ambient layers of atmosphere. Here Toteninsel definitely nod in the direction of post punk, or even industrial rock of some kind.
And then there are the occasional classical instruments and arrangements heard here and there on the album, which add a layer of neoclassical to the album. And so much more – with which we return to my initial assessment: it’s impossible to define Toteninsel by just dropping genre names. But the above should give some kind of indication.
The name of the album translates to “isle of the dead”, and is a reference to Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin’s painting of the same name. The painting is visible on the cover. However, the name runs deeper as well. Death is a common theme running through the lyrics and imagery of the album. Not all of the lyrics deal with death, but it is never far away.
Behind the microphone, Allerseelen’s primus motor Gerhard Hallstatt is joined by several guests. Long-time collaborator Aima Lichtblau (we’ve reviewed albums by InScissors and Caverna Delle Rose on which she features) performs the vocals on many tracks. A bit of Finnish flavour is added by Aki Cederberg (who we’ve also covered previously), who performs the vocals on Liekki – an excerpt from Friedrich Nietzsche, translated into Finnish by Aarni Kouta. Essentially all of the vocals are spoken word, recitations layered upon the strangely looping, mesmerizing musical backdrop.
Even though there is a common structural and conceptual thread running through the album, the tracks are certainly not cut from one cloth. The multitude of instruments used help convey the atmosphere and moods necessitated by each track and their lyrics. As such, aforementioned Liekki with its violin reverberates with the ancient mysteries of fire and kin, like a brightly burning ember in the night, and the urgent percussion of Ich Hatt Einen Kameraden with the martial sentiments of its lyrics.
Toteninsel’s music might well be dubbed “an acquired taste.” It is easy to see how for many people it could be too difficult to approach, too unconventional in its compositional approach. And, to be sure, it takes a listen or two or a dozen to start seeing under the seemingly simplistic surface the full extent of the complexity hidden beneath. Because, even though at first listen Toteninsel might appear repetitive and like a bit of a one trick pony, there’s a lot of variation and complexity here. And mysticism. And beauty.
Perhaps one could quote Nietzsche here: “Great things remain for the great, abysses for the profound, nuances and shudders for the refined, and, in brief, all that is rare for the rare.” Toteninsel in particular and Allerseelen in general are not for those who seek quick, easy and superficial gratification in their music. Allerseelen is for those who have the fortitude and the tenacity to peer beyond the surface. And for them, there are rewards aplenty to reap here.
Only Death Is Real 