I am not a hiphop guy and I don't speak much German, but good music is good music. What sets Freispruch apart from the crowd is the wordcraft and the percussion. The rhymes are just magnificent and the drums are expertly produced with intricate and accessible beats that I just can't get enough of.

I got this on the strength of Laut und Weise. The drums are less mature and more... American? ...but the rhymes are just as slick. It's not as killer as later works, but some these tracks still go really hard, countered with some GORGEOUS instrumental intros.

It is a tragedy that there are only two tracks of this melodic black masterpiece. I listen to them a lot anyway. It falls squarely between Woods and Thrawsunblat with some deliciously angry guitars that don't show up in either place.

In addition to the beautiful and stormy soundscapes, Katherine's lyrics cut me to the bone while also giving a me a space to express difficult emotions.

Poppier than ever with breakdowns still very heavy, this is a Voyager album and i am here for it.

Look at my collection. Why is THIS here? Well, listen to it. Listen close. You'll figure it out. Emily is an amazing lyricist and you never know quite what you're going to get.

It may be hard to separate THE from that other band, so let's get that out of the way right now: This is that other band if they had stayed the course they originally set.
I like it better.
The sound is old Gothenberg, but incredibly clean and slick. Not fake slick, these guys are so locked in that they just sound THAT good, see the rooftop concert if you have doubts.
The lyrics hit me head on, and I love that. They are very personal.

This album hints at the greatness that Mandrake is capable of. A very enjoyable album with some interesting diversions from its own path, like Dronning Maud Land. I wish there were more albums like this, but I have no issues playing this one over and over.

The whole album is good, but the title track is a MONSTER that hits surprisingly hard given the rest of Mandrakes music. Blurring the lines between gothic, groove, and shoegaze, it's an absolute masterpiece.

Solace features some incredible lyrics with more of Mandrake's signature sound and Crystals of Forgiveness has an opening that you will not easily forget.

There are few albums I would rate as perfect, but this is one of them. It remained on constant play since 2006. The reasons why come down to the absolute perfection of the gothic sound without leaning too heavily on cliches and well used tropes. The production is just flawless enough, but they left in the little imperfections that make it so human.
Some might find it a little odd to hear the arpegiated synth intro to Final Chapter, but it works well for the song. That's Mandrake for you.

While still an incredible album, this one pulls back a bit from Mary Celeste. Slower and more tired feeling but still beautiful and heavy,

Before Birgit Lau was a full time vocalist, Mandrake made this album with guitarist and writer Lutz de Putter performing most of the vocals. It feels the same but different: hints of black metal here and there lend a thin aggression that is largely absent from later releases, but definitely cool.

Do you like Eluveitie? If you do, you'll like Oskord. They are bit more rowdy and raw, but that's a bonus in my mind. That they are Christians and write from that perspective is an extra bonus. I discovered them after Holy Blood... and I think Oskord is even better than the band that spawned them.

Voyager is interesting. It's partly bright retro pop, but with some incredibly heavy guitars. If that's not enough to have fun with, the lyrics are usually a bit outside the box without being ridiculously esoteric. I love driving, skiing, or cycling to this band, and this album is my favorite even after another release.

If this rendition of the Canadian epic Northwest Passage doesn't get your fist pumping and head banging, you're probably no fun at parties. Like I'm not even really Canadian and I love it. Maybe, I am just Canadian enough.

This album gets getter with every track, building from an already high mark and just somehow getting more and more epic.
I feel bad for whatever Blackguard had to go through to even get this album out, but it is worth the many years that we fans had to wait.