#Leipa 🇩🇪 Reue
4 min read
Band: Leipa
Title: Reue
Label: Avantgarde Music / Noisebringer Records
Release date: 13 January 2023
Country: Germany
Format Reviewed: High-quality digital recording
What drew me to this album, is the thought that sometimes we need music to take us to levels of devastation, of ruin, of utter wretched expression, because we can’t express all of this in our lives. Yes, this is definitely depressive, and I feel that this music speaks to the parts of us that lay dormant, festering in moods of cruel depressive sceneries that play out endlessly in our overly busy minds. By giving that side of us a voice, it lightens that load lightens that heaviness of spirit, and this album presents an obsidian landscape of wormholes and less taken paths into feeling the things we rarely do, or admit to. This album is yet another reason why I love metal, for being able to immerse myself in these mood listenings and come out the other side, better for it.
Leipa is a one-man band, namely, “Noise”, is what he goes by. This album “Reue”, which is a German word meaning regret is the second full album, after 2021’s “Sisyphus”. Having a listen to “Sisyphus”, the themes center around self-hatred and doubt of one’s existence. The tracks reflect and speak to that darker emotion skillfully.
As far as this newest album, “Reue”, let’s get into it.
The first track interestingly enough is titled as a date, “01.09.2015”, beginning in a simple guitar cord pattern, with an overlay of taped angry despairing crying. This soon gives way to blistering riffs and drums pounding out rage and enmity. Powerful emotive expression, with all instruments blending in to give a sound of raging energies. Singing is a relentless hammering of emotion hitting up against drums that don’t stop either.
The second track, “Fremdkorper”, which translates to the words, foreign body. This starts off in tremolo-driven, punishing riffs. I hear a machine gun intensity of speed and energy in the guitars and drums. With the singing, and almost eerie building up to a plateau of broiling sadness and fury, this track takes you on a journey into that expression. There is this melancholic break to this, it is all the more forlorn sounding because of the intensity of the instrumentation to now. Bleakly beautiful is how I’d describe it. Then Noise’s voice just blasts out, into a despairing refrain. The punishing riffs and drums finish out this track.
The third is the title track “Reue”, which means regret in English. Beginning in more of that forlorn, bleak guitar pattern, with heavier guitar treatments bleeding into the simple acoustic notes. This gives you that air to breathe before the guttural scream breaks it, to open it to the expression of letting all go. Pummeling, drowning regret, choking you, but also being spoken to release it from its buried nest of abandon.
The fourth track, “Tier”, which translates to the word, animal. That heavy, arduous treatment of the tone of this track, ominous and depressive really hits hard in this song. I’m immersing in this, drifting in the strong tides created here, to be jolted at the very end, with Noise’s a Capela to finish the track.
The fifth track, “Abgang”, which translates to the word, exit. Another one in which I drifted into a dark turbulent river of riffs, drums blasting, atmosphere, and soothing enjoyment for me. Noise captures in his vocals, the pent-up rarely spoken words, and emotions that normally stay hidden.
The sixth track is “Schlaf”, which translates to the word sleep. This is not sleep-inducing music, the tones here are raw, mournful etchings of helplessness.
The seventh and final track, “Rauch” which translates to the word smoke. This is heavy, despairing anger channeled into drums that carry that mood. Guitars are again that punishing, unrelenting powerful, blasting bombardment of fury.
This quote was part of my review materials and I believe it clearly sums up things for this album, “You are the abyss you gaze into. Every fiber of your body resists certainty. Change just delays it. In the end, you will be what you are. Nothing. Where should the paths lead when everything ends in blackness? Why are the last moments always the hardest? Omnipresent and always there. Regret”.
Depressive Black Metal expressed to the very edge, that’s how Noise does it. His vocals emit a range of emotions, the treatment of the atmospheres created, the guitars and drums, all; all of it together is a must-hear. I give 8/10 Metal Marie
Label – Avantgarde Music
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Label – Noisebringer Records
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8/10 To Greatness and Glory!
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