Nebelhexe
Lagus Within the Lake
Candlelight
Laguz Within the Lake is a journey into the darker, more atmospheric realms of metal, if you can even call it that. The majority of the songs use subdued keyboards, tribal drumming and anonymous, strange noises. Several of the songs feature distorted guitars, hidden underneath the dark cloud of atmosphere provided by Andrea Haugen’s ghostly voice. It’s not a deep voice, but it’s not quite high either; it is both enchanting and inviting, yet simultaneously unsettling. She is known for her pagan subject matter in her own published literature, but the themes here focus mainly on the bleak side of everyday life. On “Wake to Wither,” a song that sounds like The Cure is her backing band, she moans, “Feels like dying… wake! It’s always the same.”
I can see fans of Projekt Records acts like Black Tape for a Blue Girl, The Shroud and Lycia really going for Nebelhexe. This is very gothic sounding music, if a label has to be given to it. You need to be in the right mood to listen to Laguz Within the Lake, though, or it might just sound corny. Thankfully, I am often in “brooding mode,” so I enjoy this thoroughly.
Candlelight Records: http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk
