Acoustic Torment - Schwarzwald

After a fairly solid debut, Acoustic Torment is back for round two with an even better sound. The band resides in Germany and plays mid-paced death metal that frequently borders on doom, but isn't afraid to blast away with a little speed.

"Satanic Seduction" starts the disc off in aggressive fashion with blasting, a horrifying scream, and some guttural growls. However, the band always keeps you on your toes, by quickly shifting to some acoustic guitar, cello, and depressing clean vocals. The contrast between brutal and peaceful is actually very well done. At times they even remind me of Paramaecium. In fact, Paramaecium fans that can handle it fast sometimes should really dig this band. "Belated Perception" is easily the standout cut although it is different from all the rest of the album. It has a symphonic black metal sound that comes across very intense. I wish they would pursue the style in this song for their next album cause it sounds pretty good. The song "Choose Christ" is a short one, but has some interesting gurgling/growling vocals. The closer "Sonnentau" is a sixteen minute marathon of a song. It starts with a nice acoustic intro and whispered vocals. They also incorporate some clean female and male vocals in with the growls. This song actually reminds me of Paramaecium's "Within the Ancient Forest" stuff, albeit not quite as brutal sounding. For some reason though, I occasionally find my mind drifting while listening to this album. It's good stuff, but it has a few lulls in the action that tend to make you doze a little. 

Lyrically, the band takes most of their lyrics straight from the Bible, with the exceptions still being very bold for their beliefs. The production is very good for an indie and unlike many indies, the drums sound like drums and not sticks on a trash can lid. The packaging is also very nice and professionally done.

You can visit the band on the web at http://www.acoustic-torment.de/ . You can order their album there or hopefully soon at blastbeats.com or radrockers.com.

Rating: 66/100

Review By: Matt Morrow

Label: Morija Medien Produktion

Total Songs: 8

Total Time: 51:29

Tracklisting: 1. Satanic Seduction, 2. Separation, 3. The Narrow Gate, 4. Nuclear Warfare, 5. Belated Perception, 6. Judgment Day, 7. Choose Christ, 8. Sonnentau.

Best Songs: Tracks 1 and 5.

Band Lineup: Sascha Hornberger - Vocals/Bass, Christian Urff - Guitar, Tobias Roller - Drums.

Band Website: http://www.acoustic-torment.de/