While it is not entirely wrong to still name Keitzer “the German Misery Index”, the band has ultimately established its very own niche with its latest effort. “Where the Light Ends” sees the quintet effortlessly blasting a way through death metal, hardcore and crust that rips your head off as rigorously as Christian Silva Chaco has expressed himself in his lyrics.
Thus, the group’s proverbial magnificent seventh is an emotionally engaging affair throughout. Traditionally straight and fast passages get combined with a certain melodicism that points towards early 90s Scandinavia, yet Keitzer not once lose any of the gall that made them the force of nature they are on stage. No wonder this newfound finesse makes for some of the most catchy tracks in their whole catalogue.
Take ‘Tyrants’, for example, with its compelling guitar leads, the monstrously rolling title track or ‘Slay ‘em All’, which may sum up lyrically what the record is as such: “misanthropic – nihilistic – and destructive”. In any case, you can truly call it an exceptionally credible display of anger or “catharsis in hate”, as the front man screams during the instant hit ‘Under the Surface’.
Then there are the spoken parts during ‘Shattered Silence’ and closer ‘Hellion’, barked out in the members’ native tongue and hitting home particularly well thanks to Jörg Uken’s (God Dethroned, Dew-Scented, Sinister, Suicidal Angels) transparently powerful production. Having gone strong for 20 years now, it is fair to say that Keitzer have reached a new plateau both musically and conceptionally!
“Where the Light Ends” track listing:
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Shattered Silence
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Where the Light Ends
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Under the Surface
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Tyrants
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Invictus
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Slay ‘em All
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Life Destroyer
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Hellion