Endstille are one of Germany's premier purveyors of grim second wave Black Metal, and they pretty much sound like you'd imagine when thinking of the Germans trying this style; harsh, lifeless, and uber-tyrannical. Their debut from back in 2002, Operation Wintersturm is a blasting attack of unremitting carnage, all snarled riffs, ruthless percussion, and vocals that sound like Satan defecating. The vocal work in particular is what makes this such a vicious assault; they gargle incoherently through workouts such as "Mute Their Ways" and "Discovering Rapture As An Art", pouring over the demented guitars with an inexorable presence. It's one of the sickest displays I've heard, though the rest of the band aren't up to the challenge. The riffs are imitative and repetitive, never breaking the pattern set out by blitzing opener "Der Hetzer", and there are no memorable moments; the whole album is a blackened wash of malice that never desists.
This is a band you will come across often in your search for quality in the Black Metal world, but there are better examples, obviously, in the place where it was first spawned. Decent, but nothing more.
