Zeit
Konvergenz

Time from Germany are releasing their debut album, the trio has three EPs in the baggage before this album. The band’s musical goal is something of an oxymoron, they want to make black metal not limited by the confines of the genre but still remaining in the genre. That feels like a strange musical direction, why limit oneself to a particular genre? That is what I wonder when I look at Zeit and listen to their debut album Konvergenz, a convergence of black metal, sludge and perhaps some post metal stuff as well.

Slow and raspy black metal vocals, black metal riffing and that sort of thing. A black metal fan will notice nuances that are making up this album while the more peripheral fan will think that it sounds like a fairly typical and standard black metal album. The production certainly does nothing to sway that thought, it is kind of cheapish but sure they make an album that by some will be considered fresher than many others in this genre. But not even the German vocals spices this album up and the only convergence I sense after hearing lots of the album is the convergence of it and some other stuff we don’t want in our house.

I can’t say that I am a big fan of Konvergenz, it is a black metal album and as such it limits itself to some dull stuff that very few bands manage to make interesting and Zeit is not one of those bands. I am not impressed. Though I would say that it is better than much of the garbage black metal I get to review and have reviewed, this at least tries to be something different, at least it isn’t an album satisfied being typical of a genre. It tries something even though it fails in the attempt. And in the end it feels like it is the poor elements of music that converges into a pretty uninteresting album without much in terms of real musical value.

Perhaps not awful but not very good either, it is an album that does better in the garbage than in the CD-shelf. An album that might appeal to fans of black metal but not to many others, I think Zeit limit themselves too much by remaining confined in the black metal box. One needs to think outside the box to make interesting music and these guys don’t really think outside the box – their black metal doesn’t do anything for me, but if you like black metal you might want to look at it.

HHHHHHH