Die Kunst der Finsternis — Revenant In A Phantom World
Revenant In A Phantom World is available on either vinyl or cassette- the album features nine tracks, with a total runtime nearing the fifty two minute mark. The artwork for this release is a genre-typical and simple but beautiful work bringing together creepy ornaments, candles and bats. These elements nicely illustrates the themes of the music very well.
The album opens with a sluggish sound, this paired with very grimly spoken and sometimes extravagant sounding vocals. After a pulse like break, the music speeds up and a bestial mix of devilish tremolo picking and destructive blast beats kicks in, which gives the album it’s more raw feeling. The sound nasty 'n' scary vampiric rage tipped with depressing grimness.
As the album progresses the vocals get a lot more punchy with the atmospheric changes within the tracks and change sometimes into death metal like growls. From time to time the vocals remind me of Paragon Impures album’s To Gaius
When the fast parts of the tracks subside, sinister keyboard melodies capture the atmosphere of a horror movie in a very dark and melodic style. These keyboard sounds support the songs between the slow, mid-paced and fast parts, adding to the album's oppressive vampire atmosphere.
From time to time you can hear a hint of the first-wave style in the epic-sounding tracks. The deep, singing whimpers and buzzing riffing intensify the venomous and otherworldly aura of the music, with the sombre drums and basses that gain the upper hand in the midst of all the other nightmarish and exotic sounds. My favorite tracks of the album are the first four tracks "Carnival Of The Undead", "Grotesque", "Madame Tubercolosis" and "Raised From Decay", followed by the last one - "Vampirism".
All of the instruments are played by Deacon D. creating a very powerful sound, yet atmospheric sound. All told Die Kunst der Finsternis are a very interesting vampire-horror-black-metal-project, and If you're a fan of this genre, you should check out Revenant In A Phantom World.