Tonnen von Hall – Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen

Alex from Tonnen von Hall sent me this brand-new 8-Panel Digipak CD for review. It is with great pleasure to present you to this Berlin formation going under the moniker of Tonnen von Hall. It is a new (have been around for two years) prog supergroup/trio featuring Markus Reuter, Alexander Dowerk and Asaf Sirkis. As some of you would have noticed, the line-up of Tonnen Von Hall features musicians from Anchor & Burden, an outstanding post-Crimson prog project. Hard-working Alexander Dowerk has launched numerous similar projects before and some of you may know the acts such as Zweiton, Blast Unicorn or Head From Behind.

Doing this for more than two decades now I can say with some certainty that I’ve never heard anything like this before. Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen (An imprint of the Knife in the Heart) is the lengthy title for their first full-length album, containing impressive 21 track! Their sound is hard to describe other than to say that it contains elements of instrumental, technical, fusion, jazz, math, noisy, progressive- and a kind of avant-garde/tech doom metal. My first impression is that, despite of the increased intensity and compactness, Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen still has some clear post-Crimson prog references.

You can already tell that the mention of a heart at the beginning was not a coincidence, because in terms of artwork, album title and some of the track titles, all have the heart as an important theme with tons of reverb. It’s both fascinating yet esoteric & exotic theme to use, at least when dealing with a metal release. But, as said in the beginning of this review, Tonnen von Hall is not a traditional metal band, as their sound is much more progressive, experiemental and technical than any of other metal & rock releases coming out on a high frequency nowadays. I’ll not go through each of the tracks here, but in general terms, this album as a whole is characterized by a great combination of technical precision with atmospheric depth, where the trio focuses on intense soundscapes and unpredictable dynamics.

Markus creates impressive soundscapes that are interspersed with loops and soundscapes. Alex creates complex musical structures, while Asaf brings his virtuosity and rhythmic inventiveness where his powerful beats and polyrhythmic patterns drive the music of Tonnen von Hall with unbridled energy. Thus, each band member brings outstanding experience while the whole band offers a combination mastering technical side with an unbridled creativity – a combination that makes them so unique on today’s scene. Together, the three musicians create a distinctive sound that combines metal elements, progressive arrangements and profound atmospheric passages.

I’m not the biggest fan of the genre, but I must say that Tonnen von Hall redefines the musical landscape with their debut album Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen. For the reasons depicted above Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen will definitely raise high hopes among post-Crimson prog fans. My favorite songs are “Kraken” and “Rauschmitte”.

For further info on this brand-new 21-tracker album from Tonnen von Hall visit https://tonnenvonhall.bandcamp.com/album/ein-abdruck-vom-messer-im-herzen