Great atmospheric black metal often evokes some element of nature: trees, lakes, mountains, etc. This album from Germany's Schattenfall immediately conjures images of epic thunderstorms, followed by a seemingly endless torrent of rain cleansing the landscape of the listener's mind. You can tell a lot of thought went into making the record into a cohesive experience, from the title (which translates simply into Shadow in Black") to the album art. In a world of now very tired atmospheric black metal tropes, Schattenfall is the great flood that resets the world. - Decibel Magazine
