Description

2006 picture disc with lp sized booklet

Rattenkönig is the fourth full-length album from Mütiilation, arriving about a decade after the band’s debut record. This album maintains the dark and mournful style of Black Metal that Meyhna’ch had become known for, despite the number of changes since the early years. Though it possesses several of the same flaws that plagued the previous record, it comes off as a much more solid and consistent effort, overall. While it does not compare to the older material, it still seemed like an improvement as far as the later stuff was concerned. There is no real epic sense of going on a journey through Hell or anything of that nature. Instead, the entirety of this record is like the death throes of a being that is simply wallowing at the depths of suffering, with no sense of hope. Meyhna’ch does well the create an utterly miserable record that feeds the negativity and anguish of the listener and even encourages the spilling of blood in the nocturnal hours. Rattenkönig is a solid album, though it represents even more of a disconnect with the old days. This is not a release for someone just getting into the band, nor is it an album that is likely to appeal to anyone seeking a sound similar to the demos or other early releases. Nonetheless, it offers the same type of melancholic Black Metal that Meyhna’ch spent so many years cultivating.

Track list:
1. That Night When I Died
2. Testimony Of A Sick Brain
3. The Bitter Taste Of Emotional Void
4. Black Coma
5. The Pact (The Eye Of The Jackal)
6. The Ecstatic Spiral To Hell
7. I, Satan’s Carrion
8. Rattenkonig