COLDWORLD is a German Black Metal band, and Eisenwald Productions is re-issuing their 2005 debut titled "The Stars Are Dead Now." With their debut "The Stars Are Dead Now," a landmark of Depressive Black Metal was released by COLDWORLD. The one-man project achieved to create a very unique style of ambient Black Metal fully dedicated to desolation and bleakness. The album contains seven tracks.

Black Metal has a long and storied history in the annals of the overarching genre of "Metal." During the 1980s, several Thrash Metal and Death Metal bands formed a prototype for Black Metal. This "first wave" included bands such as VENOM, BATHORY, MERCYFUL FATE, HELLHAMMER, and CELTIC FROST. A "second wave" arose in 90's, led by Norwegian bands such as MAHYEM, DARKTHRONE, BURZUM, IMMORTAL, EMPEROR, SATRYICON, and GORGOTH.

The genre has come a long way since these early days, splitting and morphing into several sub-genres, such as Depressive Black Metal, Ambient/Atmospheric Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, and other more ambient styles. There seems to be two schools of thought when it comes to the genre. The first is staying true to the roots of the genre and abiding by the forefathers by using old and out of date sounds, with poor production. The second, and more preferable for me, is taking the genre to new heights through exploration of sound. I always cite the unique band UNREQVITED for this, as the perfect example of a Black Metal band who is not afraid to explore.

Since this is a re-issue of a 2005 release, I am guessing it falls into the former category, but it is also labeled as "Ambient," so let's review the best parts of the album. The cold, sterile sounds of "This Empty Life" are a depressive slap to the face to the listener; the groovy rhythms of "Hate" (along with some light melodies; the light and ambient tones of "Suicide" (with another heavy dose of melodies and odd chord progressions); the truly ambient and charming sounds in "Ghost in the Well," which is all done instrumentally, the two-minute slow and depressing "Dead Stars," and the final heavy and aggressive sounds in the closer, "Ragnarok."

The final outcome? This album surprised me. I expected to hear the same old Black Metal blueprint, but what we have here is a true classic in the genre. Composer G.B. straddles both styles I mentioned above...some tracks stick truer to the roots of the genre, while others branch out with fine melodies interwoven in the overall truly depressive sound. Eiswenwald unearthed a gem here, brought back for the fans to enjoy, while keeping the original production sounds as close as possible.