Nachtmahr – Stellungskrieg (Album – Trisol)
Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Thomas Rainer took the Nachtmahr fanbase by surprise in 2020, releasing the Neo-Folk driven “Flamme”-album whereon he revisited some classical songs of his sonic brainchild. “Stellungskrieg” was introduced by the EP’s “Beweg Dich!” and “Die Strasse”, which clearly sounded like moving back to the original sound of the Austrian ‘Tanzdiktator’!
Content: No real surprises on “Stellungskrieg”! Thomas Rainer gets back to the familiar sound and style of Nachtmahr. From the 10 songs there’s only one single piece, which comes as a kind of intermezzo and more appeals for L’Âme Immortelle fans. The other tracks are pure harshness; bouncing beats, which sometimes evolves into Industrial kicks mixes with aggressive vocals and melodic choruses. I also notice a few instrumental edits where the vocals have been replaced by spoken samplings.
+ + + : The “Flamme”-album was an atypical release and probably the biggest challenge ever of the Nachtmahr project. “Stellungskrieg” moves back to the essence of the project; a hard, danceable sound carried by strong leads and melodies –Rainer remains a true melody maker, while driven by furious beats. When discovering the album, you rapidly know why “Beweg Dich!” and “Die Strasse” were previously released as EP title songs. Both cuts stand for the best of Nachtmahr. I however also want to mention “Geister” for its heavy orchestral arrangements.
– – – : “Dunkle Wasser” is the single cut, which can’t totally convince; it rather sounds as a dismissed L’Âme Immortelle piece. The image of this project remains a controversial point… but better to have a controversial image instead of none!
Conclusion: There’s enough stuff on this album to set dancefloors on fire.
Best songs: “Die Strasse”, “Beweg Dich!”, “Geister”, “Nicht Wie Sie”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/nachtmahr.band
Label: www.trisol.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Trisol-Music-Group/104166526285471
About Nachtmahr
Nachtmahr is the Austrian industrial and electronic project founded by Thomas Rainer in 2007. Rainer, who also fronts L’Âme Immortelle, started Nachtmahr as an outlet for his harsher material, built on hard beats, distorted vocals and militaristic imagery.
The debut EP “Kunst ist Krieg” appeared in 2007, followed by “Feuer Frei” in 2008, “Alle Lust Will Ewigkeit” in 2009 and “Semper Fidelis” in 2010. The mini-album “Mädchen in Uniform” was reissued as a picture vinyl limited to 500 copies in 2019.
“Flamme” arrived in January 2020 and revisited earlier Nachtmahr songs in a neo-folk setting. “Stellungskrieg” followed on Trisol in 2021, introduced by the EPs “Beweg Dich!” and “Die Strasse”. Rainer announced the album “Verboten!” and a German tour in September 2024.
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