Review: Rauhnåcht – Zwischenwelten

Review by Rick Eaglestone

Rauhnåcht – Zwischenwelten

Record Label: Antiq Records

Year: 2025

Rating: 8/10

There’s something profoundly mystical about stepping into the liminal spaces between worlds, and German Atmospheric Black Metal entity Rauhnåcht has crafted precisely that experience with their latest offering, Zwischenwelten. The album title translates to “Between Worlds,” and from the moment the opening track “Der Spalt Zwischen den Welten” (The Gap Between Worlds) begins its haunting descent, you know you’re embarking on something far more substantial than your typical Black Metal expedition.

What immediately strikes you about Zwischenwelten is the maturity of composition. This isn’t the work of some bedroom Black Metal outfit trying to out-kvlt their peers with lo-fi production and mindless blast beats. No, this is the sound of an artist who has spent considerable time honing their craft, understanding that atmosphere isn’t just about reverb-drenched guitars and whispered vocals. The production is crisp enough to let every element breathe while maintaining that essential rawness that gives atmospheric black metal its primal edge.

The six tracks that comprise this 46-minute journey are meticulously arranged, each serving a specific purpose in the album’s overarching narrative. “Letzter Pfad” (Last Path) showcases Rauhnåcht’s ability to seamlessly weave folk elements into their Black Metal framework without falling into the trap of forced juxtaposition. The acoustic passages feel organic, as if they’ve grown naturally from the same soil that birthed the more aggressive sections. It’s this kind of thoughtful composition that separates the wheat from the chaff in a genre that’s become increasingly oversaturated.

Rauhnåcht

The folk influences aren’t merely decorative flourishes here – they’re integral to the album’s DNA. Where many bands struggle to balance their Pagan tendencies with their Black Metal aggression, Rauhnåcht achieves a synthesis that feels authentic and purposeful. “Das Mark des Lebens” (The Marrow of Life) exemplifies this perfectly, building from delicate acoustic finger-picking into a maelstrom of tremolo-picked melodies that somehow retain the earthiness of their folk origins.

Vocally, the performance is commanding without being overbearing. The harsh vocals carry the weight of ancient wisdom, while the occasional clean passages feel like whispered secrets from the old forests. There’s a storytelling quality to the delivery that makes you wish you spoke German fluently, though the emotional content transcends linguistic barriers. When the vocals drop out entirely during instrumental sections, the music continues the narrative with the same eloquence.

“Eines Tages seid ihr frei” (One Day You Will Be Free) stands as the album’s emotional centerpiece, a sprawling composition that takes its time to unfold its secrets. The track demonstrates Rauhnåcht’s ability to create genuine tension and release, building anticipation through careful pacing before delivering moments of cathartic release that feel genuinely earned rather than contrived.

The penultimate track “Naturgewalten” (Forces of Nature) lives up to its name with some of the album’s most ferocious moments, yet even in its most aggressive passages, there’s a sense of controlled chaos. This isn’t mindless brutality but rather the sound of natural forces – unpredictable yet following their own inexorable logic.

The album concludes with “Alleinsamkeit” (Loneliness), a fitting end to a journey that has explored themes of isolation, connection to nature, and the spaces between our mundane reality and something far more ancient and mysterious. The closing minutes fade into ambience that feels like morning mist over a forgotten forest, leaving you with the sense that you’ve experienced something genuinely transformative.

Zwischenwelten succeeds because it never forgets that atmosphere without substance is just pretension. Every melodic passage, every blast beat, every moment of quiet contemplation serves the greater whole. This is an album that rewards both casual listening and deep attention, revealing new details with each encounter while maintaining its overall impact.