Allerseelen — Hallstatt

Allerseelen offer up a very distinctive audio environment- mixing ancient and modern into a invigorating, complex beat bound, harmonic mix. Hallstatt dips it's toes in electronic beat craft & organic percussion- with a mix of neo-folk/ traditional Germanic folk/world music influences, cinematics, krautrock, neo-classical, dark electroinca, inventive avant-garde pop touches that the likes of the Residents would be proud of & metallic elements that wander towards black metal.

I know it's be said about tones of bands before but there really is no else like Allerseelen, It's the amazing juxtaposition between the often looped and complex rhythmic elements and the shifting musically landscape underneath, which sets them apart managing to be both organic and electronic, beautiful and lush, but also cold and sinister. Hallstatt is named after and influence by the village of the same name in Upper Austrian & the villages amazing collection of painted skulls, which illustrate the wonderful cd cover and package.

The album consists of 13 tracks in all with a nice running time of 73 minutes to really get your teeth into. It takes you through a mirad of musically landscapes and emotions, from playful and edgy, to dark and atmospheric, to war like and ominous. Most tracks have distinctive Germanic male vocals running through them, but also there heady and atmospheric and edgy instrumental tracks too. To go into genral track discussion I think would ruin the whole impressive feel and juxtaposition of the tracks and the album as a whole. But trust me if you enjoy inventive, clever music that mangers to paint a myriad of different genres and textures together in successful manner ' you need this.

An Epic, magical, dark and atmosphric album- with each song bristling with sound invention and clever texturing and vivid atmospherics. One of the great experimental records of this year and possible the last 10 years. It really is simple amazing what Allerseelen manage with Hallstatt & I recommended it to everyone whole heartily.