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Style: Post-black metal, atmospheric black metal, melodic black metal (Harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Harakiri for the Sky, Numenorean, Møl
Country: Austria
Release date: 02 January 2025

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A few of us metal heads here at the Subway have been branded with niches. Vince is the dark-pop metal guy; Justin is the death-metal-so-dirty-you-need-a-tetanus-shot guy. And me? I’m not sure how it happened, but within weeks of me joining the ranks, I became the post-black metal guy¹ around these parts. When Ellende’s Zerfall was posted in our album claiming list, the only description in the notes section was “Daniel music.” And yes, that sad-boy, AOP-core tinged black metal—where Satan was traded for seasonal depression and unresolved longing—is absolutely my kind of music.

I am no stranger to Ellende, either. Ellenbogengesellschaft was on my year-end list in 2022, and still spins on my record player with frequency. Its moody refrains, effective shifts and transitions, and themes of societal decay all coalesced into a mighty album that still vibed sad despite an angry man screaming at me in German. I also enjoyed 2024’s Todbringerin (a rerecording of the 2016 album Todbringer), but it didn’t quite reel me in to the degree that its predecessor did. Does Zerfall capture the magic of Ellenbogengesellschaft? The good-not-greatness of Todbringerin? Or miss the mark entirely?

While the macabre cover art is certainly off-putting for the arachnophobes out there, I’m happy to say that the music itself is as pleasant as corpse paint and emotional collapse allow. Black metal staples form the foundation: tremolo-picked guitar firestorms, artillery barrage drumming, and glass-eating vocal performances. But, they are only part of the story. Throughout Zerfall, Ellende weave in choral passages, piano, and other orchestral flourishes that push the music firmly into post-black metal territory. The two-parter “Wahrheit” sets the tone early on. “Teil I” (Part 1) opens in blistering black metal fashion—double bass, machine gun riffs, rasped shrieks—before gradually shapeshifting into moody interludes of arpeggiated chords, mournful leads, classical guitar, and even an accordion section that, somehow, didn’t bother me.²

So it goes with many of the songs on Zerfall—melodic, atmospheric black metal enriched with orchestral and choral accents, sometimes for entire sections at a time. Yet, despite the breadth of textures sprinkled into the mix, a sense of sameness creeps in—one I didn’t feel as strongly on Ellenbogengesellschaft. On that album, it appeared as if I were walking the same forest path, but at different times of day. It’s always a snowy dusk on Zerfall, however. How much catharsis you derive from lingering beneath an oppressive cloud will largely determine how deeply Zerfall resonates. Ellende seem to be opting for immersion over contrast, less concerned with variation than with sustaining a singular emotional temperature.

That being said, there is one track that is quite distinct from the others on Zerfall. “Ode ans Licht” is slower; its longing, arpeggiated melodies in the guitars and airy piano don’t just pull, but positively yank, at the heartstrings. If you swapped out the black metal snarl for a Dolores O’Riordan type, the somber and trudging melody might have marched wearily into becoming a radio hit at some point in time. The song throws Zerfall’s absolute heaviest moments into stark contrast. That disparity between clear melody and desolate deluge is felt in more ways than one; regrettably, the record’s largest flaw is that when the crescendos reach their peak, the distorted guitars sometimes get lost in the mix, drowning beneath the oomph of the bass drums and struggling for air amidst the arid vocals (“Wahrheit,” “Zeitenwende”).

While I generally avoid comparing a current album to a past work, it’s hard not to think about one of my favorites from this decade. Zerfall ultimately doesn’t eclipse Ellenbogengesellschaft, but it doesn’t need to. For listeners willing to surrender to the blizzard, the album offers a rewarding, if relentless, descent into melancholy. It may always be dusk here, but for those of us drawn to the frigid dark, Zerfall offers a cold comfort—heavy, honest, and understanding.

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Recommended tracks: Ode ans Licht, Reise, Zerfall
You may also like: Genune, Zéro Absolu, Karg, Winterfylleth, Ultar
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: AOP Records

Ellende is:
– L.G. (vocals, instruments)
With guests:
– P.F. (drums)
– Kiara Bachmair (violin)
– Peter Mairhofer (guitars)

1. And like most post-black metal guys, I’m extremely white. ↩︎
2. There’s only one good use for an accordion. ↩︎