This is my first encounter with Germ as sad as that may be to say. The "band" is a one man project by Australian musician Tim Yatras who has also released albums under the name Sorrow for Austere as well as being in various other bands. I have not actually heard any of the other projects Tim has worked on, but I am aware of him, and his work. I was very excited to get my hands on this record, Grief to see what I've been missing. After a few spins, I can say for sure that I will be paying more attention to this project in the future.

The album begins with a nice atmospheric intro, with keyboards/Synthesizer making sure the listener knows what they are getting into. However, I feel the intro lacks a bit of that gripping sense to really draw someone in to the album. Quickly though, once Butterfly kicks in, I find my self paying full attention. The song lets you know right away what to expect from the record. The post/shoegaze black metal shines through instantly, and brings to mind various bands of this style. One band that comes to mind quickly, is the band Amesoeurs, as this song ( as well as Blue as the Sky, Powerful as the Waves) feature vocals from Peste Noir and ex Amesoeurs front woman Audrey Sylvain. What a great job she does as well. These track also are special in that Audrey is the only other musician on the album. Tim handles all other instruments and vocal duties.

The sound is pretty standard for this type of album. There is a giant wall of sound created by the guitars, and the drums are upbeat for most of the record. The vocals are mostly screamed/shrieked, save for a few tracks with clean vocals. The clean vocals are hit or miss to me. In The Stain Of Past Regrets the clean vocals sound a little too whiney, and almost punk/emo to me in that they are very nasal. This does detract from the album a bit, but luckily the rest of the album makes up for it.

Also, there are some electronic based interludes on the album, which are entirely instrumental, with a drum machine beneath some synth/keys. The interludes do tend to go on a bit too long, however, (and interestingly to me) the best of them is actually the longest. Track 6, An End starts off with a nice sample under the synth, but leads way to a very good melodic keyboard line. There is a slow fade out to the track, leading very well into the second half of the record.

The album does have some flaws though. The "Offical" songs on the record do tend to drag on a bit in some cases. Track 5, Memorial Address is the longest track on the record, and to me is the most dull. The song could easily be cut in half and be a much stronger song. It does pick up some steam in the late stages of the track, but it stil comes off as the weakest track to me. Also, the songs do have a very similar sound throughout. A few songs change the style a bit, but very minimally. There are some incredible moments on these tracks, but there isn't enough going on from track to track to keep me interested the entire time. Going back to the album dragging, the album feels too long to me. I love bands like Alcest because (for the most part) nothing seems to go on too long. This album could have fewer tracks and shorter run time and I feel it would have much more impact. 70 minutes for songs that don't change too much can be good in some cases, but this is sadly not one of them.

Back to the positive, as mentioned before, there are some very good passages within these songs. Tim certainly has a knack for writing some memorable lines, but could use some restraint. Also, the actual musicianship is very solid. Nothing feels sloppy, everything is very tight. The personal highlight for me is the drums. The drums are very prominent in this album and for good reason. Also, the tracks that feature guitar leads stand out quite a bit. The leads are very well done, not taking away from the tracks, but adding that extra oomph some tracks need. As touched on previously, the clean vocals can be hit or miss. They are a complete hit in the track I Can See It In The Stars which I consider to be the best track on the record. The vocals, clean and harsh, have been very good on this album for the most part. With one minor exception, they sound very anguished and match the mood the music provides.

Overall, this album has some very good high points, but does feel lackluster in some major areas, mostly length. This style is not new by any means, and listening to the album brings up images of the aforementioned Amesoeurs, Alcest, as well as Les Discrets and even Ash Borer to me at times. This album is a good addition to those bands catalogues, but I do feel it does not match what they are putting out. I would recommend fans of the genre checking this band out, which you can do here.