Black Metal before Christmas – A Review of the new MAERER EP

Zur deutschen Version geht es hier. 

Band: MAERER

EP: Am Tiefsten Punkt

Genre: Black Metal

Duration: 23:02

Release: 20.12.2024

Good things come to those who wait, or however the saying goes… In any case, it’s been a while since my last review, but when you’re asked so kindly for one, you can’t say “no”! In concrete terms, today it’s about the EP Am Tiefsten Punkt by MAERER, which will be released on 20.12.2024. 

Shortly before Christmas, the group from Bernburg make it clear once again that reflectiveness doesn’t just have to refer to cheerfulness!

It starts with the song I/IV – Vom Schöpfer, which is particularly impressive with its guitar action. The deep mood of the guitars prepare a good bed for the vocals, which clothe the lyrics in angry despair. In places, the songwriting is very reminiscent of Old School Black Metal, which definitely has a certain appeal. The fusion of Black Metal with a touch of Doom Metal is one that you can do little wrong with anyway.

Overall, I would have liked this song to be a bit more to the point. But if you consider the total playing time of many black metal songs, this is still perfectly acceptable.

In the second song II/IV – Vom Unruhigen Geist  MAERER turn the Doom meter all the way up to 100%. The listener hears a song that seems to be the setting of the word “foggy mood”. You can literally feel the decay and impermanence in the music. In this song in particular, you can clearly feel that a lot of time has been put into the production of the songs. There are more and more voices that don’t want to miss out on a sound in the production of Black Metal releases that sounds like it was recorded with a 100-year-old tin can. MAERER don’t give in to this pressure for more “trveness” in this respect and deliver an EP with a production quality that has a lot to offer. 

I particularly like the spoken word interlude at the end of this second song, which begins with the words “Who are you? I am the devil!”, which forms a wonderfully detailed conclusion to the song.

In my opinion, the strongest song on the EP is III/IV – Vom Sohn. While the other songs were still characterized by a mood of damnation, this song feels more like a desperate world-weariness to me. Here, MAERER succeed in combining the musical arcs of tension and the special stylistic elements in the best possible way. They lead the listener on a path through a dark valley from which only the band knows the way out. The first time I listened to it, I was extremely confused by the apparent end of the song at minute 5:14, because it continued as if it were a new song. Personally, I would have been happy if the song had ended after 5:14, but there’s something very Metal about confusing the audience about the length of your own songs. Especially for fans of NAILED TO OBSCURITY’s who want to hear Black Frost in a heavier style, this song could be something!

The final track is IV/IV – 0., a song that again has a bit of spoken word before it turns into an almost empathetic melody. I think it’s a good idea to end the EP here with an instrumental song, because it brings the listener back home from their musical journey. 

All in all, people who can’t do without both Doom and Black Metal will be delighted here. Compared to the previous EP, MAERER have also noticeably improved their songwriting. The individual stylistic elements are better interwoven and no longer feel so forced. I like the production as such better here, even though the one on the previous release was by no means bad. 

MAERER must now continue to develop their music and find their “signature sound”, because I still miss it a bit in places. Even though the EP is good, it’s still not so clear why you should listen to this release and not another Black Metal release. 

The band knows how to write songs so that the overall production is coherent. In this context, however, I would wish for a little more courage to be unusual. In my opinion, MAERER could make even more progress by trying out new, perhaps somewhat unconventional elements that might not be directly associated with this musical genre. 

Despite this, I think it’s a successful release that proves once again that “underground” doesn’t automatically mean that the quality is inferior. So if you are looking for honest Black Metal with a good dose of Doom that is not yet commercialized through and through, then MAERER are your band!

MAERER are: 

Sihhila – Vocals

Bubakh – Drums

Trvwen – Guitar

Asca – Bass, Backing Vocals

Geist – Guitar, Backing Vocals