Album Review: Ellende – Zerfall

Band: Ellende
Album: Zerfall
Label: AOP Records
Release date: January 02nd, 2026
Country: Austria
Format reviewed: High-quality digital recording

Album Review: Ellende – Zerfall via AOP Records by Ioana

Ellende is one of those bands that I’ve always had in the back of my mind, ever since I fell in love with their album Todbringerback in 2022. And, given that up to that point their catalogue had been without hiccups, I had no doubt in my mind that their latest work, Zerfall would not disappoint. And I am happy to say that I was without a doubt right. If I am being honest, I am even a little surprised at how much I ended up resonating with it at a second listen, considering I am not the type to venture too much into post-black metal territory. But when it’s Ellende we’re talking of, there’s no need to worry about musical missteps. All that being said, before I go ahead and talk about the music itself, I would like to leave a few words about the album artwork too, which, as it is the tradition for this band, is the creation of project mastermind LG. The painting, which is surrealist in nature, captures the spirit of the album perfectly, both through the facial expression of the subject, as well as the spider-like creature that seems to be escaping through a wound on her forehead. That being said, this is what first caught my eye about the album too.

The music itself though… The only way I can describe it is inherently melancholic. There’s always a quiet weight present in every note, and despite my better judgement, around halfway through the album I couldn’t help but feel quite touched by it as I was slipping into a contemplative state. But, I can’t help but feel as if that is the point of the album, to leave you thinking, not just of the music, but of everything that it brings at the forefront of your mind. The songs are slow, sometimes escalading to midpaced, but not further than that. Although this may come off a little strange or redundant at first, it is a key element to Zerfall’s atmosphere and the way it gets maintained throughout its course. In simpler terms, the pacing is what makes the album as immersive as it is. For the lovers of blast beats out there though, you won’t be finding much of that here, as it may be obvious. There are a couple of moments when slowed down, faded blast beats are employed to add gravitas to the riffs, as is the case for example in the song “Zeitenwende Teil II”, but the pacing doesn’t increase as a result.

Onto the riffing, which, along with the vocals, creates the main driving force of the album. It is centered mainly around melodies that flow through seamlessly from one song to another, creating a sense of continuity all throughout the album, aiding the atmosphere greatly. The only drawback posed by this style of songwriting, however, is that at times they ring a little too close to one another, and the slow pace creates an almost draggy feeling to certain parts of the record. But I doubt that more diversity rhythm wise would’ve been a good choice, as it would have taken away from the mood of the record. That being said, the songs themselves have very strong, effective structures, which stand as a testament to the band’s skills in terms of composition.

As far as the vocal performance goes, it is my personal highlight of the album, despite not being quite as striking as was the case for previous Ellende albums. It employs more traditional black metal techniques instead of the shrieks and wails present on albums such as the ever mentioned Todbringer. However, that works greatly with the overall tone of the album and the mood of it, as anything more over the top would’ve come off as unnecessarily dramatic for a record that is contemplative by nature. The vocals themselves have a very airy quality to them, and they give off this “stream of consciousness” energy when viewed in their entirety across the record. I can’t help but find that really interesting, and it is one of the reasons why I keep coming back to this album.

All that being said Zerfallis one of those albums that requires a very particular mood to be enjoyed properly, and it is certainly not for everyone. Still, for those of you who are looking to enter deep thought alongside music that matches the energy, it might just be the right thing. All that being said, go give it a listen, you never know when music may sneak up on you and catch you off-guard. 8.5/10

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8.5/10 To Greatness and Glory!
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