I don't know how many of you know this band, but I didn't. When I saw the logo and the title I was a little bit gingerly with that release. But when I pressed the 'play' button on my CD player and listened to the album for some times, I was sure that I had to do with a good album and an evil smile appeared on my face.

TODTGELICHTER was formed in 2002 by Frederic, Tentakel and Bjorn (bass) in Hamburg Germany. After a while the first lineup change took place with Bjorn leaving the band and Mort joining. During the recordings of their first, and only, demo Nils took the place of the former bass player. Fluch/ Sog In Den Wahnsinn was self-released in 2003. After a lot of live shows and the addition of Felix as a second guitar player, the Was Bleibt... debut album hit the stores in 2005.  After yet another change in their lineup, with Claudio as the second guitar player instead of Frederic from now on, their second album Schemen was released in spring 2007...

... but unfortunately just now fell in our hands. And I said unfortunately, because their aggressive Black Metal is quite good. Not something that you didn't listen before in your life, but with riffs that stick in your mind and their whole approach may remind you the one that BURZUM has.  Most of the compositions are fast but there are some slow parts that help the listener not to get bored. The production is not crystal clear, that - in my opinion - is good. It's black Metal for demon's shake, not a power/prog album. Schemen is an album that needs attention, since every track offers a lot of details and wonderful melodies. What I liked is that they are not afraid to experiment with musical instruments that you may find 'obscure' in a Black Metal album, like saxophone in Aschentraum. As for the female vocals in the last track, they are working perfectly after the storm of the rest of the album.

Schemen (meaning shadow(s)) is not an easy-listening album. And someone that is not familiar with the monotonous formula of BURZUM may find it boring. As for the others, make yourself a favor and listen to that album.