Heilung

Drif

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Genre: Atmospheric Metal.
Released: 19/08/2022
Via Season Of Mist

Album Review: Heilung – Drif

Heilung is a name that has been doing the rounds in the rock and metal community for a little while now due to their very unconventional and almost tribal esc sound matched with some quite dark and mysterious videos to accompany their music. When I heard they were about to drop a new album titled ‘Drif’ I just had to check out what had taken these communities by storm. Here are my thought’s on this release.

Dark, sinister and atmospheric. This is the best way I can describe the opening of this album. ‘Asja’ kicks off with tribal singing that may send shivers down a listener’s spine before embarking on a journey through the forest guided by heavenly vocal melodies and a constant yet effective beat. The journey continues through to ‘Anoana’ which captures the listeners imagination with intricate use of woodwind melodies and a consistent drone that holds the whole track together nicely.

Unsurprisingly, this album is choked to the brim with character and blends more tribal esc music with the rawness and sinister nature of Black Metal. ‘Tenet’ is the longest song on the record coming in at 13:05 and opens with children repeating a saying being relayed to them by one of their elders. This song is harrowing and enlightening at the same time. Unearthly screams and heavenly vocals don’t often work in unison however Heilung’s unique style allows them to mould both good and evil into something that will captivate the hearts and minds of their listeners.

As the album goes on, a brighter image of what is transpiring in your ears is generated. ‘Urbani’ takes you deep into a march through nature within a battalion while ‘Keltentrauer’ is an 8 minute gap in the music and opts for a spoken word passage with battle sounds filling the background. Returning to a more traditional style of song is ‘Nesso’. A soft yet impactful number that drift’s you through what remains of the battle that was described in the previous entry.

All albums have to draw to a close and ‘Buslas Bann’ kicks off the final charge with a demonic feel surrounding it. This song sounds as if it is evil and the tone generated from the vocals is in such a low register it almost works as a drone throughout the track’s duration. ‘Nikkal’ however comes across as angelic and heavenly. A real Ying Yang situation with these two. This track is quite the listen as the harmonies on display throughout will gently pass through your ears and embed themselves right into your mind for the rest of your day. Closing out the album is the track ‘Marduk’ which is almost in between of the previous two. The song definitely has some sinister undertones however it comes across as quite mysterious and leaves the listener wanting more despite there being nothing more to go. Way to leave people on the edge of their seats.

This isn’t a conventional album by any means but it was never going to be. Heilung are something that the rock and metal community hasn’t seen a lot off yet, they seem to be gaining quite the following amongst the Black and Extreme metal community despite opting to use more traditional and tribal esc music. I highly recommend people give this album a spin as it’s so far out of the realm of modern day convection that it may just win you over. The band are set to embark on their largest tour to date with three stops in the UK and you can get tickets here (Affiliate Link)!!