Album Review: E Nomine's Finsternis

Happy Easter fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

I didn’t even realize that the day of Jesus’s resurrection (For those who believe) happened just past my birthday this year! It’s all the more hilarious, as the annual review for this holiday I’ve been planning for the past few months, and right away you will recognize the band I’m looking at today. E Nomine are just a quirky group in my view, and they have enough of a discography that devoting some time to them on Easter just makes the holiday a little more fun. Their first release was a mix of religious imagery with electronic instrumentation & beats, but would they be able to carry this on as their career moved forward? So, grab some candy, offer a quick prayer to the heavens above (If you believe), and get ready for my review of E Nomine’s second album, Finsternis. Let’s begin!

Background
Once again, finding information on this group’s career is a bit of a challenge, considering their home was Germany & by extent Europe. What little on Wikipedia that is relevant is that after the big success of Das Testament, E Nomine continued on their musical journey, and decided to shift thematic gears. I’ll be repeating this a few times, but they decided to put aside the religious imagery, and decided to sing songs inspired by Occult themes, Horror movies, and Gothic Horror novels. Once they were done in the studio, Finsternis (Darkness) was released on the 21st of January, 2002. It must have done a good job, as it got a lot of praise back in the group’s native Germany, and they would release a 3rd album a year later.

Basic Description
The same.....yet different?

That sounds like a strange way to describe this album, but hear me out on this. As far as influences & instrumentation is concerned, E Nomine have not changed a thing. There’s still the Gregorian chanting & occasional Latin vocals, as well as the Techno, Electronica, and Trance instrumentation. However, what inspires the group on Finsternis is very different: gone is the religious imagery, and instead a massive influence from classic Horror movies & Gothic Horror novels. As such, the beats & rhythms are exactly the same as before, but the shift in stylistic influences does clash ever so slightly.

Best Track
Mitternacht opens up this Gothic Horror masterpiece, and it does not disappoint! Though I enjoy the extended version more, the original version is still nice. The middle-pacing hits just perfectly, the Gregorian & Latin are still welcome, and the Gothic vibes show off how different of an experience Finsternis is going to be. Just an absolute treat of a starting track!

Mitternacht (Extended Version)

Worst Track
Like I said above, Finsternis doesn’t have any of the prior album’s (And the album after’s) religious imagery. There is still plenty of Gregorian & Latin singing, but it’s more of a side spice to the main meal rather than the main spice itself. I appreciate the turn in thematic direction, but at the same time I find it weird that the Gregorian & Latin elements are still around, and don’t have as much potency as before. If I wanted to be a bit more nitpicky, the only other thing I can complain about Finsternis would be it’s pacing. Though there are some swifter songs on this album, the vast majority occupy a slower pace. That doesn’t make the listening experience bad, but it does cause a small bit of whiplash when you listen to it after Das Testament.

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this, then click on the link below:

Finsternis

Finsternis (V2)

Overall Impression & Rating
Finsternis is quite the musical ride. Upon listening to Das Testament fairly recently, getting into this record was quite a bit easier. I will say it was a little off-putting that they discarded the religious imagery, and the pacing was slowed down more, but this is balanced out by having a release that’s just dripping with atmosphere & gothic vibes (Maybe more that their first record, btw). If you are in the mood for yet another unique piece of Techno/Electronic music, then give this one a go whenever you can’t. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed!

Finsternis gets an 8 to 8.5 out of 10.

And that was my look at Finsternis, the second album of E Nomine. It may not have the flavor of what came before it, but the new one this record acquired is still tasty. So, I hope you all have a wonderful Easter Sunday, and I’ll see you all a little later this month!