NEBELUNG - Mistelteinn - CD - 6 tracks - Eis & Licht - 2005

This (mini)CD is the first release from Nebelung, a neofolk duo from Bonn formed by Stefan O. (vocals, guitar, clarinet, flutes, percussions) and Thomas L. (guitar). For this purely acoustic debut on Eis & Licht, they were also enlisted the help of a two-man string section (cello and viola), a drummer and an accordion player.

As expected, the music is the usual fare from a German neofolk band, grave vocals, plucked guitars, melancholic strings and dramatic percussions, but this not surprising in such a rigidly codified genre. However, this is just a first impression and a close listening will reveal more elaborate arrangements and well-balanced compositions coupled with good musicianship.
I like two songs in particular, "Abel und Kain" and "Mistelsteinn", but this just a personal preference as all the songs on Mistelsteinn are quite pleasant; even if their influences (Forseti, Darkwood, Sonnentau, etc) can be a bit too obvious at times. However, this is cannot really be considered as a major default for a debut release. A detail that can easily be forgotten when listening to this record...

A promising debut (mini)album.

Ian C.
Spring 2005

Mistelteinn is released as a limited edition of 600 copies in a Digifile with booklet...

More info, contact, mp3s:
Nebelung : www.nebelung-musik.de
Eis & Licht : www.eislicht.com