Review : KOLLWITZ – “Like Iron I Rust”

Kollwitz – Like Iron I Rust
Release Date: 2010Feb20 (EU) / 2010Sep30 (UK)
Label: Fysisk Format
Rating: 4.5/5

The heritage of Neurosis seems to be ever-expanding; there is no stopping the flow of bands in their wake. Kollwitz is a new acquaintance from Norway who, with the blackened sludge offered on their debut Like Iron I Rust, are keen to seek out their own course in these dark waters. A debut of this caliber even challenges the current rulers of northern doom, Cult of Luna.

Kollwitz has been receiving quite a lot of praise from European critics, but there is still no denying the fact that they’re arriving just a little bit too late.  Hell, even Isis recently disbanded in order for its members to find something new to do. Has all the fun left the post-metal party? Well, the answer has two sides. One, the numbers of trifling bands in this genre are increasing by each day (second only to the surge of post-rock bands following each Mogwai release) and this record is not as original as one might hope. But two, who says that coming late to a party might be a bad thing? I’m a huge fan of this genre and the bands inhabiting it. I love the sludge, I crave the slow-moving mountains of drums, I need the zombie slabs of repetetive guitars crushing down from above, and I join in the harsh screams from a soul that seems sentenced to hell for eternity.

In an age where music is increasingly digitized, it’s a relief to hear from small record labels such as Fysisk Format. While mainstream music is being considered more of a “product”, it is often the small label’s mission to retain “art” in music. Like Iron I Rust is quite wonderful both to look at and listen to, satisfying the listener in ways a simple MP3 cannot.  The album has currently only been released on CD, but word of mouth is that Fysisk Format is planning to release it as a beautiful packaged vinyl as soon as possible. And it will surely be a treat for the eyes; the CD version is a black-and-white sketch by artist Johannes Høie. It depicts a scene of dread and apocalypse, the religious icons of our time laid to waste among ruins, barrels and twisted steel bars. But in the middle of this chaos stands a iron horse on its hind legs, defiant and proud. This cover painting sends an lasting impression of minimalist doom and structured mayhem.

Where other bands in Kollwitz‘ neighborhood might be regarded as one-trick ponies, this Norwegian band has something hidden up their sleeves:  tristesse. They have managed to fuse heavy metal with a dark sadness, and that is the glory of Kollwitz.  It is not ear-shattering mayhem, but rather beautiful melancholy, which portray depths more common to Neurosis than any of their followers.

FCC OK

01. What You Are Given
02. Green Line
03. A Great Divide
04. And The Stars Did Wander
05. Dispirit
06. Black Star, Grey Sky
07. Stille Før Stormen
08. Like Iron I Rust