Sumpf der Fäule by Hangatyr is the kind of Atmospheric Black Metal album you put on and — after that first 30-second build reaches its peak — you find yourself instantly pinned back against the wall and stay that way for the next 43 minutes while this Germanic powerhouse batter you with a storm so cold it’ll strip the flesh clean from your bones.
This is how Atmospheric Black Metal should be — a constant, never-ending wall of symphonic noise that’s as terrifying as it is beautiful. Six tracks of pure, untamed nature that threaten to consume everything in their path. Quite frankly, if Wagner were born today, wore corpse paint, and slung a guitar over his shoulder, he’d be in Hangatyr.
From the moment Sumpf der Fäule begins, with its statement making title track, there’s no question that this band know exactly what the hell they’re doing. The atmosphere doesn’t creep in; it surges forward like a flood, swallowing you whole. The guitars are icy and vast, each riff a glacier grinding slowly but mercilessly through the landscape. The melodies are both bleak and grandiose — not the “pretty” kind of atmospheric black metal that’s content to drift away into the ether, but the kind that drags you into the mud and forces you to look at the beauty of rot.
Hangatyr manage to find that rare balance between savagery and splendour. The drums are a relentless blizzard — fast, sharp, and utterly unforgiving — yet the precision of the playing keeps everything tightly locked together. There’s a martial discipline to it, a sense of control amid the chaos, which only adds to the sheer power of the sound. This is a band that doesn’t rely on gimmicks or overwrought production tricks; their atmosphere comes from pure conviction and razor-sharp execution.
Vocally, it’s everything you could hope for — hoarse, commanding, filled with anguish but never melodramatic. The delivery is raw yet regal, the kind of performance that could raise the dead or lead an army. You don’t need to understand a single word of German to feel it. The emotion cuts through every syllable like a blade.
What I love most about Sumpf der Fäule is that it’s an album, not just a collection of tracks. Each song bleeds into the next with purpose, creating a seamless narrative arc that feels elemental (I guess, as I mentioned, I don’t speak German).
You can almost see the landscape forming around you — frostbitten forests, black rivers, and mountains crumbling under the weight of something ancient and eternal. This is music that commands attention. It doesn’t play in the background while you do the dishes; it owns the room.
There are moments where the band lean into almost symphonic territory, layering melodies that soar just above the maelstrom without ever breaking the tension. It’s here that Hangatyr show their mastery — they know when to unleash and when to pull back, how to keep the listener on edge. Every rise and fall feels deliberate, a carefully constructed storm designed to leave you both exhausted and exhilarated.
It’s also worth saying that Sumpf der Fäule never loses sight of what makes Black Metal powerful: authenticity. There’s no sense of pandering, no attempt to chase trends or soften the edges. This is music that revels in its own darkness, that finds transcendence through extremity. You can hear the lineage — traces of classic Norwegian fury mixed with the grim, disciplined precision that Germany seems to do so well. Yet despite these familiar elements, Hangatyr sound entirely like themselves.
By the time the final track fades – the, quite frankly, epic ten minute Dämmerung – you’re left staring into the void, half expecting to see your breath fog the air. It’s that immersive. This album doesn’t just capture an atmosphere; it creates one, and it lingers long after the final note dies out.
In a world where Atmospheric Black Metal too often slips into background music for moody forest walks and introspective coffee drinkers, Hangatyr remind us what the genre can be when it’s wielded with power and intent: devastating, beautiful, and utterly consuming.
Sumpf der Fäule isn’t just another entry in the genre — it’s a monolith. Cold, commanding, and alive with purpose.
Sumpf der Fäule is available now from the Hangatyr Bandcamp page.
CHOICE CUT: Dämmerung
Black Metal Archives Verdict: Ferocious yet refined, Sumpf der Fäule is a blizzard of sound and emotion — pure Atmospheric Black Metal majesty forged in frost and fury. Hangatyr don’t just play the storm; they are the storm.
