Vatermord – worte einer kindheit
Vatermord (patricide) is a two piece band from Berlin, Germany playing a blend of Black Metal and Sludge. They just released (February 19, 2026 ) their first full length album “worte einer kindheit” (words of a childhood).
The album is, as the band states, a “…homage to Ágota Kristóf’s Le Grand Cahier, a novel that follows twins forced to adapt to a brutal world, where they ultimately come to see patricide as a legitimate means to an end. ”
Ágota Kristóf writes in a minimalistic style and a plain language. She lets the twins write the chapters, which are the essays the boys write into Le Grand Cahier (The Notebook) and creates a putative distance and objectivity. In effect the horrors of privation and violence become evident just the more.
I am only talking about the novel so much, because I want you to understand why, (and here I might be spoiling the bottom line ..) Vatermord’s homage is extremely well done.
Everything about this album is minimalistic, bleak, blunt, raw and abrasive, the music as well as the lyrics. Even the brevity of the tracks carries this sense of minimalism (17 tracks/35 min.) with just one song passing the 3 minute mark. And yet, despite all conciseness, there are many scenic, theatrical moments throughout the entire album that bring about a sense of abundance.
There are constantly shifting dynamics that evoke images of people marching, running, sneaking up, movement of all kinds and even unsettling chaos. Vatermord often employs a staccato rhythm that fits the lyrics so very well and this, again, references Kristóf’s writing style.
The vocal performance goes from whispers over spoken word, chanting, bellowing, to grinding screams, a broadness that supports the theatrical quality, amplifies the shifts in atmosphere and mood and also emphasizes the significance of the lyrics.
“worte einer kindheit” is a stunning debut album on its own with a breathtaking intensity, tightness and emotional impact.
To make a musical homage to a great piece of literature like Ágota Kristóf’s Le Grand Cahier is a bold venture, though, and (to retrieve the bottom line) Vatermord succeed in this venture extremely well.