NEW ALBUM "SCHATTENKRIEGER"& Reviews
Obliveon (Germany)
So manches Goldstück versteckt sich unter großen Anstrengungen hinter den riesigen Klangbergen zehntausender Neuproduktionen, die monatlich weltweit den Markt überfluten. Doch wir wären nicht das „Obliveon“-Magazin, wenn wir nicht unter all dem Schlamm und Unrat die wundervollsten Nuggets herausfischen würden. Mitunter ist es wirklich interessant, Neuerscheinungen russischer Plattenlabels unter die Lupe zu nehmen. Überraschungen sind dabei nie auszunehmen. Eine große Welle der Sympathie erntet in diesem Falle die Neuerscheinung „Schattenkrieger“ des deutschen Solounternehmens Schattenspiel, ehemals gut bekannt unter dem Namen „Phalanx Feat. The White Rabbit“. Unter Kooperation diverser üblicher Verdächtiger des Military/ Ambient – Genres entstand eine absolut hörbare Produktion mit durchaus neuartigem Klanggenuß. Das Intro „Alone in the dark“ in Kombination mit dem Folgestück Sturmwarnung (feat. Barbarossa Umtrunk) lassen Erinnerungen an die gute, alte „Carmina Burana“ des Herrn Orff wach werden, sind jedoch für dieses Album keinesfalls wegweisend. Stark, hochsensibel und enorm kompositionsstabil. Das darauf folgende „El Gato Negro“ in Kooperation mit dem Projekt Igniis entpuppt sich als kleines Krönchen. Hundertprozentige Feinkost! Dunkel, sanft und durchaus majestätisch, wunderschöner Gesang untermalt mit zartem Klavierspiel und feinfühliger Percussion. Aus solchen Kombinationen werden Hits geboren. Eine wirklich dunkle Schönheit ohnegleichen. Allein dieses Stück verdient am Ende dieser Rezension einen Extrapunkt.
Weitere Höhepunkte dieser Scheibe kommen mit „Solang mein Herz noch schlägt“, „Tigerauge“ , „Dunkle Wolken ziehen auf“ (die schönste, vertonte Umschreibung eines aufziehenden Gewitters, die je mein Ohr erfreute- traumhaft und wunderbar bildlich) und „Vendetta“ daher, durch die Bank weg wunderschöne Werke die ihresgleichen suchen. Von sinnlich weich, bis majestätisch kraftvoll, ein musikalisches Wechselbad der Gefühle.
Fazit: Kooperationen mit anderen musikalischen Projekten verschiedener Genres lohnen sich und bringen große Abwechslung ins Gesamtkonzept des Albums, ohne dass dieses dabei an Satt- und Rundheit verliert. Die Mitarbeit von Barbarossa Umtrunk, Igniis, Orpheus Enthroned, Ouroborus und Art Abscons erweitern diese Scheibe um ein extrem breites Spektrum verschiedenartiger Klangwelten und technischer Möglichkeiten. Dem Hörer steht also in diesem Falle ein riesengroßer Ausflug in dunkeltönende Welten bevor- ich wünsche an dieser Stelle gute Reise, denn es lohnt sich, mit Schattenspiel auf Kopfwanderung zu gehen. „Schattenkrieger“ hebt sich wahrlich von vielerlei Produktionen des relativ eintönigen Genres ab, sehr gute Produktion, zauberhafte Vertonungen, erstklassige Umsetzungen. Das geht ins Ohr und verschwindet von allein nicht wieder. Klingt alles ein wenig nach Klängen für großes Hollywoodkino. Ein wenig schade finde ich, dass viel von den wundervollen manuellen Percussions des Vorgängeralbums „Follow the white rabbit“ verlorengegangen sind.
Vergleiche mit anderen Bands und Projekten sind hier fehl am Platze. Einzigartig, rund , tief, gut. Zarte Pianos, schwere Streicher, tiefe Trommeln, Harfengezupf- angenehm düstere Stimmung mit Gänsehauteffekt. Kurzum, meine absolute Kaufempfehlung für Menschen mit Anspruch und Hang zu gepflegter Schwarzromantik. Der Soundtrack für schöne Abende im Kerzenschein schlechthin. Dieses Album wird nach jedem Hören schöner. Ich will mehr von diesem tollen Zeug!!!!!Schattenspiel soll weiterleben, also kaufen,kaufen, kaufen!!!
8,5 + 1 Bonuspunkt (El Gato Negro) = 9,5/ 10 - LRD
The Formless Kingdom (USA)
I have never been part of a project that was this intense before. I mean, The Tarot Serie was certainly intensive, but even I was not privy to just how much of a theatrical production this album would turn out to be. I also know now how much the creation of this album was also in league with its size and scale of achievement. Many artists have slogans, mantras, sometimes clichés, but this is really a solid example of what Sven Phalanx loves to tout in order to assure everyone knows the extent of a sort of purity that runs through his art: "No politics, just music".
This was certainly an aggressive effort. Not only is the amount of artistic collaboration an indication of the time and dedication this work required, but also the considerably varied and harmonized variety of styles and personalities involved as well. There really is an almost overwhelming sense of pride in each track, but more than this is the feeling that was the main animation source of the songs.
The main semblance of this album is an undulating spectrum of negative emotion. There is despair, as with "Alone in the Dark", and the well-constructed piece done with Argentinean Neo-Folk adventurer, Igniis, "El Gato Negro", a musical adaptation and tribute the the immortal Edgar Allan Poe. A great piece of that work is the vocals, which to me sounded like a very calmer-toned version of "Lobo Hombre En Paris" by Rock En Tu Idioma pioneers La Union. But Igniis also pushed the gears in "U-29", a borderline-industrial piece of sort of noisy Dark Ambient that marks a more intense place in the albums development. But before that, the work displays a very melancholic side, with "Niemansland" and my own contribution to this release, a shared work Sven christened ”Symphony of Loneliness". The first of this pair is a warm one, one that might induce mental visions of something like the Elysian fields of ancient Greek lore. The second happens to be an effort on both parts to exorcise a shared bout of anxiety concerned with matters of the heart...
But things take a turn. A big size of the second half of this disc is devoted to the "Krieger" side of things. The biggest offerings here happen to be "Orages d'Acier Act II", a joint effort with Barbarossa Umtrunk that equals the ample production value of the album's second track, "Sturmwarnung", and the epic four-way collaboration between Sven, Baron von S., Gr Mateo, and everyone's good buddy, Marco Grosso, "IV Schattenkrieger. A twelve minute joining of forces that travels is so many directions, its difficult to tell where it will take you, but it is the best melting together of almost all the other elements that came and went before it... Then the droning, semi-tense stepping aside that is "Flashback" makes the closing transition into an very tender and also mature remix of Sven's "Falling Down"...
This album is certainly something special, but the worth it has to the persons involved might never be fully comprehended by the listener, though everyone certainly hopes it is respected. The were many elements of fate involved in the making of this album, I can surely attest to that.
It is a wonderful notion to all of us that we all had something or other in common before this came together, but the term "full circle" applies to us just as much as the general camaraderie and development of a musical brotherhood does.
This is a physical release limited to 150 hand-numbered copies.
ARTIST STATEMENTS:
SVEN PHALANX:
SCHATTENSPIEL spent overall one year to finish the album SCHATTENKRIEGER. We imposed an obligation to ourselves: When someone listens to the album, the music has to be so mystic and catchy, that you want to hear it again and again. We decided to produce it in that way we ourselves would
like to hear it many times.
Then we had the problem with the lack of time, because we all work or study in our normal lives. The former Project PHALANX FEAT. THE WHITE RABBIT grew up from two to four band members, and so we all decided to re-name the project Schattenspiel in 2010.
The Songs of "Schattenkrieger" are very private, we tried to assimilate our personal experiences, and we do not want to wait on typical clichés concerning our styles of music. We all had blows of fate during the time of working on the album. The music is our way of letting off steam. That's why we built up Schattenspiel. No politics, just music.
While creating the album, we wanted it richly colored, and so we collaborated with other musicians, too.
We want to thank Barbarossa Umtrunk, Igniis, Kazeria, Rex the Ninth, Andrea R. & Nicole W.,
Fiedler! and our label UFA Muzak.
Carpe Noctem.
SCHATTENSPIEL.
IGNIIS:
I think working with "split" songs is a very exciting option, and in turn quite complex. It is not easy to get the mixture of different musical styles to blend correctly and fluently. That is the challenge. One must have his head open to a wide range of sounds, and put aside the elitism that adheres to music nowadays. It's very comforting having participated all together with other musical projects in these songs.
BARBAROSSA UMTRUNK:
Barbarossa Umtrunk & Schattenspiel have begun to work together with the song "Sturmwarnung", which is a remix of the song "Thule Gesellschaft", originally released on the CD-Split of the same name by Seuchensturm & Barbarossa Umtrunk for the SkullLine label. Baron Von S & Sven Phalanx, the two respective leaders of BU & Schattenspiel have decided to continue working together regularly for some tracks in the future. Many other collaboration tracks have been done, and BU has done his own remixs of Schattenspiel's original songs "Falling Down" [which becomes "Falling Moons"] , Aus der Tiefe ["La
Montagne du Califat"] and Aufbruchstimmung ["Le Centre Supreme"], and from his side, Schattenspiel has done his own remix of BU's tracks "Winter's Reign" and "Orages d'Acier" [both renamed "Act II"].
The two bands have always kept working together for several compilations: the song "Tell-Tale Heart" based on Edgar Allan Poe's short novel, has been released on V/A "Tales of the Grotesque & Arabesque" for Q23/Notariqon & "Vive le Quebec Libre!" will appear soon on the new SkullLine Anniversary compilation. One tribute song in memory of Mishima Yukio, the last Samurai called "Sun & Steel" has been done recently, and also the track "IV" which is a 4-way collaboration track created with Ouroboros, Igniis, BU and Schattenspiel.
Currently, Kazeria, Igniis, Barbarossa Umtrunk and Schattenspiel are working together on a conceptual CD based upon the historical figure of Vlad Tepes and BU and Schattenspiel have decides to re-release all their tracks in common on "Tatenokai", a Split-Cd that will be released in a few months on SkullLine.
http://theformlesskingdom.blogspot.com/2010/06/schattenspiel-schattenkrieger.html
Defiance (Great Britain)
Schattenspiel - Schattenkrieg
Schattenspiel are back with their brand new album "Schattenkrieg" filled with their unique and familiar ambient sounds that make this album superior to it's predecessor. It's majestic,dramatic, fluent and exciting. The tracks take you in and make you absorb every once of this album.
With the hypnotising "El Gatao Negro" with it's powerful but light synths to the more climatic "Tigerauge" with the power of the drums marching it along, it's full of power and mejesty with that fan fare feel from the dark side.
Then we hit another side of the spectrum with "Orages d'Acier Act II", "Vendetta" and "Väterchen Frost" these tracks are simply mind expanding and mind blowing, there is no other way to describe it. This album flows so smoothly from one track to the next, nothing stands out for the wrong reasons.
My favourite track being "Niemandsland" it gives you that sense that you need something and this beautiful track gives it to you. It's simple yet elegant.
Along with familiar collaborations with artists such as Ouroboros, Barbarossa Umtrunk and Igniis along with a stunning remix by Iris Traumann who has collaborated in the past with Schattenspiel, I feel this album really pulls it's own weight and that the band have grown and expanded. For this reason i have amense respect for Shattenspiel and this beautiful composition that is "Schattenkrieg".
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=451040249&blogId=534738120
