Release Date: September 05th 2025. Record Label: Lay Bare Recordings. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Brandung - Tracklisting
1.Tiefe Wasser 01:51
2.Memories Of Ice 04:38
3.Keep Me Down In The Deep 05:50
4.Black Coral 02:06
5.Wirbelwind 02:14
6.Above The Burning Sand 06:04
7.Maelstrom 03:06
8.Brandung 07:43
9.Solar Veil 02:46
Members
Julia Frasch - vocals, percussion
Moritz Berg - guitar
Benedikt Berg - bass, cello, percussion
Amin Bouzeghaia - drums
& additional guitar on Black Coral,
Wirbelwind, Brandung, and Solar Vein
Review
Coltaine are back with their latest offering Brandung and whilst the songs maybe shorter than the ones held on their previous release that doesn’t mean Coltaine are cutting corners with the emotionally charged grooves they’ve made their name with. Far from it. As Brandung is an emotionally charged release that transcends multiple genres, themes, sounds and delicate ambient passages for a record that’s musically complex but also emotionally rewarding throughout.
Coltaine are perhaps defined as a Post-Doom/Post-Metal collective with flashes of Black Metal, Psych Rock. Post-Rock, Drone and Orchestral sounds for a bold, grand and musical statement that has influences such as Chelsea Wolfe, Wolves In The Throne Room, Godspeed You Black Emperor helping their creative cause.
The music is stripped back to its rightly cold hearted score which is also helped by the excellent recording duties and production values contained on the record. I was quite surprised to see my Jan Oberg (EARTH SHIP and GRIN) on mixing and mastering duties on this album. He pulls out all the stops as usual making Coltaine sound absolutely unique with a fresh spin on the whole Post-Doom/Blackened Post-Metal sound. Credit must also go to recording engineers Gregor Rieth & Amin Bouzeghaia as well. So production values get a major THUMBS UP from me.
Now back to the actual album itself with Brandung being quite a highly original style of evolving Post-Metal sounds with that ice-cold Blackened Metal drive with Julia Frasch’s vocals being beautiful, dynamic, aggressive and quite destructive within the heavier moments especially on tracks such as Memories Of Ice, Keep Me Down In The Deep, Above The Burning Sand and Brandung.
The album itself feels like one lengthy song broken down into individual chapters with each offering haunting melodies, ice-cold lyrics and captivating storylines to show how Coltaine have evolved brilliantly ever since their inception back in 2022 though some members were part of the much missed WITCHFUCKER. The excellent use of different musical instruments adds a sublime ETHEREAL vibe that appears within the shorter tracks of Tiefe Wasser, Black Coral and Wirbelwind.
The shorter tracks are perhaps the most dominated by Orchestral and Post-Rock movements which adds a sense of CINEMATIC sounds to the whole album. Though, Coltaine does add “extra” spice to the mix within the shorter tracks with outbursts of Julia’s intense screams and sudden shift into Psychedelic paranoia laced with Post-Black Metal intrigue.
Brandung is a richly observed and emotionally charged album with Coltaine breathing new life into the whole Post-Doom scene with complex rhythms, vocal harmonies and epic Post-Metal soundscapes combining for one of the most intense and beautifully realized records you’ll hear this year.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Coltaine and All Noir PR for the promo.
Brandung is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Lay Bare Recorrdings.
Links
Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
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