Alpinist
Lichtlærm/Minus.Mensch
Southern Lord

There seems to be something stirring in the underbelly of the German music scene, something darker and more menacing than the cheesy power metal they have become infamous for; hardcore is on the rise again, and Alpinist are another band emerging from the hidden basements clutching their prized vinyl to finally release something on CD. Combining their last two full lengths, 2009′s Minus.Mensch alongside last year’s Lichtlærm, this is a furious and uncompromising introduction to the band’s pulverising sound.

Both albums here are very much put together as complete pieces, flowing as they do with a natural easiness that makes the record a joy to listen to. Unsurprisingly, Lichtlærm is the more mature half, a refinement of the ideas first explored on its predecessor; but there is a rawness embedded in Minus.Mensch that is enthralling and captivating, a fresh youthfulness that is devastatingly powerful. The sparse intro of ‘Deliberate’ explodes into the manic battering that is the hallmark of the disc, a dense wall of sound built around the earthquake-inducing riffs. There is also a sense of playfulness to the likes of ‘Aidt’, little snippets of guitar that make the listener smile whilst still headbanging like a lunatic.

It might be an older track with a decidedly dodgy moniker, but ‘Nighttime Poet Daytime Dead’ is certainly the crowning glory of Alpinist’s body of work to date; the manner in which it builds from the merest hint of feedback into this gargantuan monster of sublime aural violence is a delight to behold. Hardcore might be a rather limited genre superficially, but these Germans are at the vanguard of an ever-growing horde proving there just may be some life in the old dog yet.

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Review by Dominic Hemy