PORTA NIGRA is an Avant-Garde Black Metal band from Germany, formed in 2012. "Weltende" is the band's fourth full-length album and is has nine songs. "Es ist Krieg" is the first. Clean guitars and spoken words lead off the album and the background has building tense elements. Then, the explosion of sound comes and it's near pandemonium. The music is thick and overgrown, but not without some distinction. "Götterblut" has a feisty groove to it with muted palm strikes on the guitar. The vocals are thickened by leading with more than one voice-an overdub of sorts.

"Völkerbrand" has a faster pace and almost some Punky elements in the music at first. What follows is loosely Black Metal, but there are also elements of Black 'N Roll. The native German sung lyrics give the album an edge as well. "Verlorene Paradiese" has some melody out of the gate, and the staccato attack of the guitars is a different vibe. So far, the band is showing their reach with four various tracks that are not repetitive. "Bestienschlund" is a short, three-and-a-half minute track, opening with clean guitars, piano, and some backing atmosphere. The melancholy nature of the song brings yet more variegate to the album.

"Die himmlische Revolution" returns to the heavy and aggressive sound, and that main riff is bossy. The lead guitar work is just a bit sloppy, but it adds to the flavor of the sound...these guys are balls out. The title track is a dark and mysterious affair, and the interplay between rhythm guitars and meaty bass notes drip with a sad sound. The title of the song refers to a short German poem. "Triebgeschwärme" has a steadier and more powerful sound, fueled by quad-time bass drumming and some inventive riffing.

"Hora Mortis" closes the album. It appears they save the most dejected song for last. The song translates to "in the hour of death," so the title makes perfect sense. Overall, this really was a fantastic album to listen to. I suppose that this fits within the wide barriers of Black Metal, but the band kept each song fresh by not repeating one song after another. The barbarous nature of many of the songs will keep Metal fans coming back for more, but I appreciated some of the more subtle touches.