Valborg: Der Alte

Valborg have always been willing to experiment, shift boundaries, and while always remaining true to their harsh and sinister musical core, the Germans have never stuck to one particular musical box while consciously avoiding to become trapped in a stylistic pigeon hole. As a result many stickers have been applied to their sound: doom, blackened death metal, industrial among others. On their new album entitled "Der Alte" ("The Old One"), Valborg take a rather reductionist approach. Their new tracks are deliberately kept short, making use of simple structures, brutal, while making use of extreme vocals and their trademark lambasting and relentless drum beat. Aided by LANTLOS-mastermind Markus Siegenhort, who took on all production roles, Valborg have opted for a raw and unpolished sound that relies heavily on the guitars as all keyboards have been ditched on this album. Audible influences include all of the band's metal aspects but also add elements derived from punk and wave for exampl