Sturmpercht - Geister Im Waldgebirg

It is now almost Hellishly difficult to be able to parade yourself as a Neofolk artist without some left winger waving the "Nazi" banner at you, or being sure to accuse you of venturing too far into the themes of Thule and Nationalism. Sturmpercht is one of just a few projects lucky enough toescape this witch hunt, yet still manage to keep a high enough profile to succeed.

With a beautiful Aesthetic themed around Paganism, and many Alpine based images and themes, Sturmpercht manages to take two of the most beautiful concepts (Druids and Snow filled Forests), and garnish them with almost fantasy-like undertones.

We must remember that despite the digipak being beautiful, it's the music on here that matters. Now, the bane of this opus is that nearly all of the titles and lyrics are done in German, which for beginners of the language, and non speakers could be off putting. Don't let it though. It sounds exactly as you would hope , many of the tracks being tender guitar-based melodies, with gentle vocals, reminding me at times of Darkwood, but with a more subtle focus.

Fans of Waldteufel and Sangre Cavallum would rejoice at this too, as it even features the aforementioned projects on certain tracks!

Very, very pretty. Dec 31 2007