Purity ThroughFire sets October 31st as the international release date for Minenwerfer‘s highly anticipated third album, Alpenpässe, on CD and gatefold double-LP vinyl formats. The CD version shall be released on October 31st, with the vinyl version arriving before the end of the year.
For over a decade now, Minenwerfer have pursued a proud ‘n’ pure vision of black metal idiosyncratically focused on World War I – idiosyncratic, in the sense that the band hail from America but mostly sing in German. What has resulted is a startlingly accomplished canon that has quietly built itself into prolific proportions, with the first two albums arriving in 2010 and 2012, respectively, and a slew of split releases in the interim.
However, for as considerable as that canon has become, here with Alpenpässe do Minenwerfer delivered their boldest, bravest statement yet. With almost eerie ease, the duo construct towers of epic might – literally, as the album tops an hour in length, with two of its six component tracks tallying 12 and 17 minutes each – with sensations of sorrow, triumph, remorse, and retribution coursing through their expansive veins. In a sense, Minenwerfer here weave a narrative that seems almost endless, so flowing and free and breathtakingly so are their compositions across Alpenpässe. Of especial note is the lead-guitar work here: without ever once coming across as soft or betraying black metal, the bountifully rising/falling melodies pull at the listener’s heartstrings, casting an ominous (and eminently playable) spell that simply needs to be experienced to be believed. It’s a study of stark contrasts that Minenwerfer pull off with power and poise.
Like many records under the Purity ThroughFire banner, the past is alive again – LITERALLY – with Minenwerfer‘s Alpenpässe! Begin the epic trek with the new track “Dragging the Dead Through Mountain Passes” HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Minenwerfer’s Alpenpässe
1. Der Blutharsch [17:08]
2. Dragging the Dead Through Mountain Passes [7:09]
3. Cloaked in Silence [12:53]
4. Kaiserjägerlied [9:19]
5. Tiroler Edelweiss[ 4:33]
6. Withered Tombs [8:07]
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