Band of the week: Wandar

Band of the week 21/2026

Origin: Halle (Saale), Germany
Genre: Black Metal 

Hier geht’s zur deutschen Version.

The band about itself:

Wandar raised their banners in 2006 to offer a clear response to every ray of light, creeping down from the heavens. Wandar don’t stand for flashy, black metal posturing, but rather for incredibly dense, atmospheric black metal of the highest quality. Rooted in Scandinavian tradition, shaped by representatives of the Cascade region, and ultimately refined by modern perspectives and a very high standard.
Torn between raging fury and pain-filled lamentation, teetering between erupting rage and melancholic powerlessness, WANDAR create a state of ominous suspension, a menacing intoxication that can be dangerously beautiful to succumb to.
Their messages are full of melancholy, longing, and absolute passion. Coming from deep within crypts, with scarred hearts and bloody eyes.

Wandar have already shared the stage with bands like: Watain, Helrunar, Taake, Bethlehem, Der Weg einer Freiheit, Imperium Dekadenz, Eis, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult and many more.
Every show is a ritual, every ritual a stab, every stab a constant bleeding out.
 

Editorial commentary:

Those who embark on a musical journey through the world of Wandar and take the time to truly look around will discover, alongside an authentic and devoted philosophy of nature, above all profound narratives about oneself, humanity, others, and the world around us. With every step, the attentive listener moves deeper into a complex and emotional atmospheric black metal construct, where a great love for detail emerges around every corner. At times, interwoven with deep imagery, we stand before dark forests, get caught in storms, freeze, or, after weathering thunderstorms, delight in the warmth of the sun reflected in the dew of the meadow. But there is also rest and  introspection; moments and perceptions are put into perspective, we become sad, we despair, we get angry, but we also keep running, eventually burying ourselves deep in the earth and ultimately within ourselves. At least that is what I feel when I have the band in my  listening rotation again.

I first discovered Wandar’s music a few years ago during my time as a “Hallunke.” That might sound strange at first, but in Halle (an der Saale), people born in the city are called “Hallenser,” those with close ties to the Halloren salt workers’ guild are also known as “Halloren,” and newcomers are simply referred to as “Hallunken.” Over the course of the eight years I was fortunate enough to spend there, I naturally also got to know the great music scene in and around the cities of Halle and Leipzig. It didn’t take long before I had an album called Zyklus in my hands, which I didn’t want to take out of my ears for a while. A fantastic piece of black metal that still fascinates me to this day and captivates me from time and time again. Of course, I quickly picked up Wandar’s first full-length album, Landlose Ufer, which was also re-recorded in 2021. On the occasion of the release of their new album, Tiefe Erde (released via Vendetta Records), I just wanted to say a few words about this great band, whose music has been a part of my life for quite some time now.

Wandar’s music is often changeable and erratic, yet at its core it never strays from a dark, emotional, and frequently oppressive heaviness that weights down on the listener across all the tempos black metal has to offer. Within this powerful heaviness lies a fascination and tension that is perfectly crafted through various elements. There are the passionate vocals, which—sometimes furious, then whispering, here despairing, there lamenting, at one moment denouncing but also paying homage and marveling, indeed downright reverent—fit into the complex song structures and guide the listener through the unleashed storms of wonderful riffs and melodies as a vital narrative element. Lyrically, the topics are often veiled in the aforementioned nature-inspired imagery, but at the right moments, they can also be direct and clear. Complementing this, the impressive instrumental work is never careless or incidental. The band is a master at crafting tense and surging riffs and melodies that are skillfully resolved and varied in a sublime and harmonious manner. The albums also feature interludes and ambient influences that function appropriately as connecting or supporting elements, yet never stick out from the music in an intrusive or incongruous way. There’s this compositional skill with which the band manages to channel a wide range of emotions and states of mind into a complex, multifaceted—yet precisely because of that, effective—musical form, forging the result into captivating concept albums that I can lose myself in time and again, that stir my emotions, and that never lose any of their fascination. 

While the debut album Landlose Ufer, in a comparatively rawer form, already hinted at the conceptual path of a nature-oriented yet rather pessimistic exploration of the human condition, the aforementioned Zyklus solidified this approach in all its beauty and darkness. According to the band, the new chapter Tiefe Erde brings the cycle formed by these three parts full circle. I’d like to give the new work a few more listens before I venture an opinion or statement about it. Even on the first listen, I quickly realized that there’s plenty to discover here and that a thorough engagement with the content will certainly be worthwhile.

So here’s a link to the first single from the album, titled Trug, which I already consider one of the best songs of the year. For anyone looking to delve deeper into a discography that is as atmospherically dense as it is stirring and captivating, I highly recommend Wandar’s releases. And to everyone else, too.

The band at Dark-Art:

• 04.09.2020 Fimbul Festival Bericht – Freitag
• Fimbul Festival 2020

Live impressions:

[Zeige eine Slideshow]

Music recommendation:

Upcoming live dates:

Links:

Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
Spotify
YouTube

Band of the week is our weekly posting about a band we recommend and is posted every Tuesday at 8pm (CET). These are bands that are just at the beginning of their career and that we think should receive more attention.

You can also find all the bands we’ve featured this year in our playlist on Spotify!

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