Year: 2021
Total Time: 50.21
Label: Wolfmond Production

When someone hears the name ASGARD, one thing is certain: to get confused, for the simple reason that, in the Metal scene, there are around twenty bands with this common name. However, ASGARD come from Switzerland and were founded in 2006. But “Leuchtenstadt” is actually the band’s first full album, since until now they had only released some demos, mcds, splits and compilations.

In “Leuchtenstadt” they continue playing old school Black Metal, as they did in their previous releases. The songs have a mix of slow, medium and fast tempos. Sometimes, when the music speeds up, with tremolo “picking” and extreme blast beats, it gives an even rawer feeling. But there are also well played melodies and guitar solos that raise the level of this release. The vocals are hard Black Metal screams with some very short “clean” exceptions, but the Death Metal growls are also not missing. Most of the music, however, reminds of the 90s, especially MARDUK. All the musical instruments have a very strong and clear sound in the recording, yet the production remains “raw”.

 The record contains eight songs, some of which are very long in duration with some epic elements and recitation style vocals, like in “Reisen inn i Lyset”, which is, for me, the top song of the record, by far. Also “Face Of Satan” and “Leviathan” are very good. The lyrics are written in a mixture of Swiss, Norwegian and English and cover classic “beautiful” topics such as war, demonology, Satanism and, of course, darkness.

  In any case, ASGARD are still considered an underground band and I don’t know if they can “move up” in the future. Nevertheless, “Leuchtenstadt” is a good record, and if you like the raw and pure old school Black Metal of the ‘90s, definitely go ahead and listen to it.

Rating: 7/10
Editor: Dimitris Argyrakis
Related Link: ASGARD – Facebook Page