Founded in Germany in 2000 by Sagrim and Phlegiaz, MATHYR came to life to haunt the world with a successful blend of Black and Death Metal. Mandraenken was recorded by Sagrim (vocals, guitar), Chris (vocals, bass), Thorson (guitar) and Phlegiaz (drums).
The band’s “genre” is as varied as the members’ intentions: “to use the music as valve and method to guide our aggression into creativity”. The first song, “Bloody Corpse Resistance”, betrays the band’s SLAYER influences – but, by the second track (“God is Lost”), it is IMMORTAL all the way and occasionally some textures also to be found in DIMMU BORGIR. The third song, “Mandraenken”, is Death Metal riffing through and through.
So, it is pretty obvious that there is diversity, variation and a lot of different moods in MATHYR’s music. Statistically, the Black Metal moments are more frequent, despite the very different vocal registers (from traditional BM to real growls).
This is fast, well-played Black Metal with some DM influences and tons of talent, groove and attitude with a decent production. Mandraenken is highly recommended. German BM is getting better by the day.
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Mathyr – In Front of Cold Distance
Additional Information
MATHYR emerged during the early 2000s German black metal revival, when the country’s extreme metal scene was experiencing renewed creativity following the pioneering work of bands like DARK FUNERAL and NARGAROTH. The band’s approach to blending black and death metal elements reflected the increasingly experimental nature of German extreme metal during this period.
The album title Mandraenken appears to be derived from Germanic folklore, possibly referencing the mandrake root (Mandragora), which was traditionally associated with dark magic and occult practices in medieval European culture. This thematic choice aligned with the broader trend of European black metal bands drawing inspiration from pre-Christian mythology and folklore.
MATHYR’s dual-vocal approach, featuring both traditional black metal shrieks and death metal growls, was relatively uncommon in the German scene at the time, predating the more widespread adoption of this technique by later extreme metal acts. The band’s ability to seamlessly transition between SLAYER-influenced thrash passages, IMMORTAL-style Norwegian black metal, and DIMMU BORGIR’s symphonic elements demonstrated the technical versatility that would become a hallmark of the German extreme metal sound.