Geist – Galeere

Releasedate: 15-05-2009; Label: Lupus Lounge
By: Lara Cappelli

Geist was formed in 2005 from the ashes of Eismalsott, a German Black Metal band. In 2008 they started to work on the songs for their third album Galeere, which was released in late Spring of 2009.

When seeing the members of Geist the first thought that might come to your mind is to have dealings with one of the several face-painted Black Metal bands. When hearing the music you realise Geist is not that ordinary though. Starting with the assumption that in Black Metal field, standing out from the traditional standards of the genre seems pretty hard, Geist manages to succeed in it. It’s like Galeere represents Black Metal at its purest state. The album has just five songs in it but the ostensible brevity of it is not to be found in the songs themselves, which last at least eight minutes. Vocal parts are well blended with music, which stands out when needed without stressing a specific instrument. All the trademarks of the genre are still in there, but are alternated with several pause moments of soft noises which lighten the ambient every now and then. The atmosphere isn’t laid back though, even the calmest parts of the songs contributes in creating a spooky and dramatic feeling.

Geist’s point of force is surely the song’s structure on which they leverage to give a clear meaning to their compositions. Galeere isn’t a revolution for Black Metal though, but the first steps of the band augur well for the future.

Links:
Geist MySpace
Geist Official