On disc: Ingrimm

 
 Todgeweiht
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Böses Blut
 
- Mike Thompson -
 
 


 
 Live
 
- Lars Bjørn -
 
 

Live

(Black Bards - 2011)



 
 

 

The band Ingrimm was founded in 2006, and have been very active, 3 albums so far, and now they release this live record, simply called: Live. It is recorded at the Medieval Festival Greifenstein Open Air in 2009. In addition to this CD, there are also a DVD from their show in Bordumrocknächten from 2010, but the review is only about the CD. The mainman, vocalist Stefan 'Fenris' Zandt tries his best to cheer up the crowd, but the songs are not good enough for that purpose, and they should properly concentrate a little more on getting good songs prepared instead of making 4 records in 5 years of existing as a group. This concert album contains songs from their 2 first albums, with Skudrinka and Diaboli as the best shots from their hip. Most of their music is noisy, guitars and bagpipe and aggressive growls, but you should properly be German to really like this kind of record... All the texts are in German language, so this could mean that they don't get much time to do concerts outside of Germany. Shame to say it, but try to prepare some different next time, it would serve you better.

 
 










Lars Bjørn


  
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Böses Blut

(Black Bards - 2010)



 
 

 

Ingrimm are a band that plays in that wholly German style of 'medieval' folk metal similar to In Extremo and Schandmaul but in my opinion a little heavier than their contemporaries.

The rumbling bass and crunching guitars combine with competent drumwork to lay the foundation for the music whilst catchy melodies ooze from the traditional instruments of bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy. Over this vocalist Stephan Zandt delivers a great performance with his deep, gritty voice adding some heaviness to the proceedings.

This album, Ingrimm's third full-length, is a very worthy addition to this uniquely German scene. It is catchy and full of  songs that will make you want to raise your drinking horn high and dance around your living room! This is both its greatest blessing and its biggest curse. It is fun to listen to, yes, but unfortunately there are no truly memorable songs either. Its all well played and enjoyable and if you're having a party where beer will flow freely then it will be perfect. However, the songs aren't of such a caliber that you'll want to listen to them over and over again.

A good, consistent album that will please fans of this genre and might also appeal to people who appreciate tongue-in-cheek metal such as Alestorm. Its not the greatest album you will ever hear but is a good 'party metal' album!

 
 










Mike Thompson


  
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Todgeweiht

(Black Bards - 2008)



 
 

 

Ingrimm is a band from Regensburg (Germany) which combines heaviness with mediaeval sounds. Todgeweiht is their 2nd album and if you take away the mediaeval instruments and melodies at Vogelfrei then you still have a heavy metal track. After the fast opener they present a mid-tempo rocker which has for a moment a bit of Rammstein... Krieger has NDH-like riffing, but the hurdy-gurdy melody as well as the vocal line add a mediaeval touch. But for the bridge the NDH riffing is back. Next in line Ingrimm! A fast powerful metal track with angry spoken words parts as well as growls and clean vocals. The hurdy-gurdy gives this one a special touch. Very cool! The bag pipes are prominent at the opening of Todgeweiht, but then give way to the sharp riffing. And for Der letzte Tanz they speed up! Again the bag pipes accompany the guitars. Staccato riffing and aggressive vocals make them sound very heavy. Lyrically this one is about a peasant uprising and running the gauntlet - for the soldiers and mercenaries. Lyrically this is a kinda love song, but very fast with crunchy riffs and with some growls (backings). Partly the hurdy-gurdy adds a melody line supporting the vocals, but it has to fit a wall of guitars. After the fast Narrentraum they slow down for Der Stern, a song about people who abuse and kill kids, even babies. No surprise that this song sticks out with sadness and melancholy, but also with aggression. At Rot they talk about people who suffer from boarder line syndrome... At this one the mediaeval elements are missing almost, only the bagpipes add a folk-ish touch. But they don't add mediaeval melody lines. For the closer Diaboli they speed up again. Guitar-driven and partly with tribal-like drumming this one sticks out - and again only the bagpipes give it this mediaeval touch.

Ingrimm's lyrics have a deeper meaning, so spend time and read their lyrics, if you speak German. Unfortunately the guys either an English version of the lyrics on their website nor some English liner notes. They should change this!
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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