66 minutes, 32 seconds

Allerseelen
Flamme

People accuse Allerseelen of being one of those supposed crypto-fascist bands I wrote about last week. Gerhard, the man behind this Austrian solo project, has a fascination with the onetime pro-fascist writer Ernst Jünger, and the themes behind the Neuschwabenland album (Neuschwabenland being the Nazi-era name for the German portion of Antarctica they intended at one point to colonize) are interesting, but admittedly perhaps a bit troubling.

Regardless of what is or isn't true, Allerseelen does indeed celebrate "European-ness," and some people interpret that as nationalism, with all its attendant anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic properties. Anti-fascist watchdog groups protest at Allerseelen shows and try to get them canceled, often with success. But what proof do they have that, say, Allerseelen is a fascist band spouting Nazi ideology?

What's interesting to me about these bands is their subtlety. For example, unlike those of the more well-known and sensationalized white-power heavy-metal or punk bands, Allerseelen's lyrics are not explicitly racist or inciting to hatred of any kind. In fact, I'd be hard-pressed to say they're even implicitly inflammatory. (Admittedly, I speak no German, so there might be something I'm missing.) But I understand that some of the themes might be a little dangerous to explore in a Europe still very sensitive to anything that smacks of nationalism or ambiguity about what happened in the '30s and '40s.

Truth is, I like that this music encourages thought, even doubt, about its intentions. Makes for an interesting, if unsettling, Sunday.

Also today:

66:28 Ammer Einheit, Deutsche Krieger
66:24 X Marks the Pedwalk, Air Back Trax
66:23 yelworC, Brainstorming