Nidelgret – Trauerlärm (Review)

“Witch’s goods and Nidle’s flow, he who wants too much ends up with nothing!” cheers the witch during the climax of the Swiss fairy tale of “Nidelgret“.
This moral lesson might have been a motivation for choosing Nidelgret as a band name. Maybe as a reflection of issues in a world “wanting too much”.

Nidelgret was founded by former members of Gravpel in Basel, Switzerland. There are obvious musical similarities between the two bands. The rawness, sound and brutality of the Black Metal performed on the Nidelgret debut Trauerlärm (“Mourning noise”) should make Gravpel fans feel right at home.
To my ears, though, it hits even harder than Gravpel already did.
Where Gravpel‘s Power to the Filthy Masses had more overt Punk portions in their songs, Trauerlärm does have that Punk attitude more indirectly crafted into its riffs. On top of that, the album experiments with Noise and Industrial passages.

The opening track “All My Efforts Were In Vain And Now I’m Bereft Of Hope As I Anticipate The Depth Of My Fall” (just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?) starts with a shrieking, isolated riff. It sounds raw and deliberately imperfect. The screaming vocals chime in. Sounding just as raw. Full of ugly hatred and anger.
And then it all explodes. Blast beats. The buzzing bass very present. Highly distorted, abrasive guitars.
The riffs are neither melodic nor dissonant. They live in that sweet spot in between.

With that outbreak of the opener, you realize: These guys are done with it. Done with it all. This music is so relentless that it barely gives you a moment to catch a breath.

While this album is blasting and cold Black Metal on paper, the spirit conveyed through the speakers is a Punk-laden, big, angry middle finger. Some of the riffs would probably work just as well on a Hardcore or Powerviolence record.
Songs like “Their Silence Is Our Requiem” are the first ever to remind me so clearly of December Wolves‘ 1998 record Completely Dehumanized: brutal Black Metal, smuggling its Punk through the riffs.

One of the album’s highlight moments is found in the third track, “I Confess My Death. Make It Quick”: After a toned-down bridge, a melodic tremolo riff takes over the song, bursting with emotion. Between so many rhythm-driven and blunt riffs, this feels like one of the few moments to finally catch a breath.

While the wall-of-sound, violent side of the music might knock you out at first, the more emotional and unique layers start shining through after more time with the album.
This is especially true for the B-side, where the band starts to get more experimental, introducing electronic passages.
Take “The Disappointment That Follows You To Bed Is Keeping You Awake At Night”, which ends with two minutes of hammering and industrial electronics, topped by piercing, commanding vocals. While musically different, these electronics share the hostile quality of the Black Metal quite naturally.

Other standouts from the B-side include the amazing drum work on “Black Earth” and the short, stomping mid-tempo Punk part in “Hope’s Alive”.

Similar to the highlight riff in “I Confess My Death. Make It Quick”, songs like “My Eyes Birth A River” and the album closer “Gazing Into Nothingness” sport more classic, hymnic Black Metal. Riffs that convey a lot of desperation, grief and an oppressive atmosphere.
“Gazing Into Nothingness” beautifully closes the album with a moody Dark Synth outro that, again, acts as a natural extension of the sound.

Even with electronic segments and some variations in the approach, the songs always keep their straightforwardness. Everything the band does is just another tool to tell their direct, unfiltered musical message, not progressive rocket science.

Big portions of Trauerlärm are in the vein of the light-on-melody and blast-beat-obsessed flavor of Black Metal that has been a genre staple since the late 90s. This style has never ceased to excite me. Pure comfort zone for my musical neurons.
Therefore this debut is an easy win for me. And I am very much looking forward to future outputs of this Swiss high-speed train of sonic ferocity.

Fans of the more brutal side of bands like Terzij de Horde, Wiegedood or even something like Fukpig should absolutely have a listen! I can also see people who dabble in more extreme forms of Punk enjoying the in-your-face spirit present here.

This album is not polished and beautiful. It is taking all the pain and anger of the world and is funneling it through this uncompromising and somehow heartwarmingly hostile music. This truly is quite some “Lärm”. In the very best ways.

Or, as they say in Switzerland: “Tip top!”

Urs Transcended

From: Dortmund (Germany)
Favorite Artists: Nasum – Anaal Nathrakh – Fluisteraars
Best Show: Fluisteraars@Doornroosje, Nijmegen (2026)