On January 10, 2020, WALDGEFLÜSTER will release a re-recording of their 2006 debut demo "Stimmen im Wind." WALDGEFLÜSTER is a German black metal band that formed in 2005. The re-recording of their demo commemorates the band's 15^th anniversary. In the beginning, the band was founded by Winterherz as a solo project to pay tribute to black metal. However, as of August 2014, live musicians Arvagr, Dominik, Markus, and Thomas became full-time members. WALDGEFLÜSTER has released five full-length albums in total, including "Mondscheinsonaten," released just last April.

WALDGEFLÜSTER's brand of black metal contains plenty of the standard bleak riffs and tortured vocals, as well as beautiful acoustic guitar interludes and some clean singing. It is atmospheric and takes you on a journey through desolate landscapes. The opening track "Morgendämmerung" is a great example as it starts off with an acoustic guitar intro before leading to an intense riff. Towards the end, there is an electronic section that uniquely adds to the stark atmosphere. The fourth track "Wotan sang" is a personal favorite due to the melody of the acoustic guitar intro and the way the riffs throughout the track echo that melody. The acoustic guitar instrumental closing track "Abendämmerung" also repeats and expands on the melody from "Wotan sang."

The original demo "Stimmen im Wind" was released June 9, 2006. According to Winterherz, the band aimed to improve only what they deemed necessary. "The sound is now something I would actually call 'sound'," which is a hilarious direct quote. Real drums and a bass track were recorded and added to the songs. As I do not own the original demo, I turned to Youtube to find original versions, but could only find the 2006 version of the second track "Waldgeflüster." The production of the original track is far more lo-fi and raw than the re-recorded version. With the cleaner production, the intricacies of the guitar melodies can be heard distinctly. The raw bite of the original production is lost, but the sound is less compressed in the new version. The drums are an upgrade and the bass track isn't lost in the mix of the new version.

Overall, I highly recommend this album to black metal fans. The re-recorded tracks contain beautiful and emotionally-charged riffs. If you enjoy black metal with cleaner production and a bit of melody, this is definitely for you. If you prefer raw black metal, I still recommend picking up the vinyl release because the included bonus CD contains the original version from 2006.