Rating: 7.5/10
Release: 30 December 2024
Label: Independent

Gernotshagen is a six-member German blackened folk metal band, and Mein Trusetal (“My Trusetal”) is their first EP since their 2020 album “Ode Naturae” and is a profound love-letter to their homeland. Since the EP’s release, they’ve released another single, “Von Rauhen Nächten” (“Of Rough Nights”).

For the EP, it’s primarily a self-titled single that’s worth checking out. It starts off like a folk song, complete with some processing to make it sound older. Don’t be fooled, though, it’s for the single. The opening is some very solid melodic black metal with some great progressions delightfully juxtaposed with the lyrical subject, his love for the beautiful town of Trusetal. It’s a great idea that’s wonderfully executed. The bridge is delightfully anthemic, and it ends on a rather eerie, atmospheric spoken word sentence or two. It’s a great track, though arguably a little long. Trusetal is, indeed, a beautiful town and worth the trip on your favorite maps app even if you don’t enjoy the song.

The second track is a condensed instrumental, orchestral snapshot of the first song. I had to listen to it a couple times, as my brain just kept painting it as a long intro to the third song– Herigest MMXXIV. Danish for “Hereafter”, it’s a modernization of the final track from their first album from 2002. It’s a song in praise of Herg. As an aside, I could only find a reference in H. Munro Chadwick 1900 work “The Oak and the Thunder-God”, where Herg meant a copse of trees, which is thematically appropriate for Gernotshagen. The original version had a different band lineup that sounded more earthy and atmospheric, mainly with the presence of a keyboard. The arpeggios are handled on guitar now and sound more coarse. All this is to say, I prefer the quaint charm of the original.

“Von Rauhen Nächten” is their latest single, and I’m not taking it into account in the rating above, as it’s not part of the EP, but it’s a massive 10-plus-minute collaboration which has a two minutes of intro and two further minutes of outro. It’s a slow burn, but very much worth the ride.

All-in-all, it’s more of a single than an EP, The idea and execution on the title song are certainly worth the listen, and for those just discovering Gernotshagen like me, there’s plenty of back content to explore!

Tracklist

1. Mein Trusetal 08:33
2. Trusetal Orchestral 04:23
3. Herigest MMXXIV 11:56