ALKALOID – Bach Out Of Bounds (Album Review)

Sometimes, a truly novel experience can come from the unlikely coupling of two disparate eras in music’s long and complex history, and few combinations could be considered more unlikely than that of Bach’s High Baroque compositions and one of the Teutonic metal scene’s more unconventional projects.

At first glance, these two contrasting styles would seem to share little in common apart from the nation that birthed them, as the signature compositional style typical to Alkaloid’s brand of progressive metal rests in a curious middle ground between the dark expressionism of the German avant-garde composers and the subsequent Neo-Romanticism of the later 20^th century, a far cry from the Baroque world of common practice tonality and grandeur.

Yet when all elements are considered, the 62-minute concert experience captured on audio that is Bach Out Of Bounds showcases a brilliant synchronicity that reveals a level of ingenuity by those involved in its creation that few could hope to rival.

Though much of the material of this album’s namesake covers was likely intended for a larger orchestra, to speak nothing of the massive sound that comes with any shade of death metal, this is a very up close and intimate affair that resembles an 18^th century chamber music performance.

Accompanying the guttural vocalizations and explosive guitar work of frontman Morean, the bombastic kit work of ex-Obscura drummer Hannes Grossmann, and the virtuosic bass gymnastics of scene veteran Linus Klausenitzer is a highly accomplished troupe of instrumentalists bridging the nostalgia of the 1700s with the modern bombast of the 2020s.

Guitar shredder and recent Pestilence member Max Blok and highly competent six-string slayer also of Eternity’s End Justin Hombach fill out the metallic end of things in a live capacity, while an ensemble of classically trained players round out the rest of the arrangement, consisting of 2 soprano voices, 2 violins, a cello and an accordion (likely standing in the place of Bach’s organ or harpsichord).

In many respects, the marriage of two sounds that were born roughly three centuries apart results in a veritable rollercoaster ride of sound, but the necessary guardrails manifest at each jarring twist and turn. Kicking things off are high-dynamic performances of the first two movements of Bach’s famed “Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor (BWV 1052)”, reflecting both the technical skill of every musician involved and the genius of Morean in adapting a classic from a bygone era into a modern context.

Between the expressive and impassioned vocal deliveries of sopranos Rianne Wilbers and Chrysa Tsaltampasi, the wildly reworked and elaborated cadenza that blazes from Max Blok’s fret board, and the dynamic balance that faithfully approximates the terraced dynamics of the Baroque era, true homage is paid to the original. By way of contrast, the later performance of the “Agnus Dei (BWV 232” from Bach’s Mass in B minor strikes a consistently orthodox and solemn tone, falling far closer to the way a traditional concert hall would perform it and avoiding any metallic add-ons.

While carrying the name of Bach in its title, this live offering is still predominantly an Alkaloid concert in a somewhat unconventional setting, and along for the ride are 5 offerings from the band’s three-album catalog performed in a manner that can be best described as Alban Berg meets death metal.

Extended excursions into the realm of the Lovecraftian, like “Beneath The Sea” and “Cthulhu,” mix intermitted bursts of riff-centered brutality with machine gun drumming galore, bringing to mind the analogy of dark jazz meeting expressionist collage of sound, bolstered by the expanded arrangement of instruments and voices.

On the latter aforementioned entry and the closing fit of technically charged death metal “The Fungi Of Yuggoth,” there are zero punches in the aggression department relative to the band’s studio material in spite of a litany of bow-string noodling being along for the ride. But in terms of a total experience that blurs the lines between what Alkaloid’s existing fan base expects and the intimate chamber setting in play here, the apex performance belongs to that of “Haunter Of The Void”, which over its 10-minute run dwarfs what many symphonic bands accomplish with 5 times this many instruments.

Though the concept of merging the musical timbres of the 18^th and 19^th century into an extreme metal context has come a long way in the near 40 years since Celtic Frost’s Into The Pandemonium pioneered the concept, there is something truly surreal about hearing the raw, explosive fury of death metal adapted into a medium more readily associated with the tranquility of a 1730s chamber music event.

It may prove a hurdle in terms of accessibility for those that prefer their metal straight out of the bottle rather than mixed with the sweetness of a fruit juice or soda, yet it’s pretty easy to picture classical music enthusiasts and metal heads observing this spectacle side by side in a rare state of shared camaraderie given the avid yet politely measured applause following each performance.

It’s an interesting variation on the usual studio output of bands associated with Hannes Grossmann, like Obscura and his ongoing solo project bearing his name, and a fairly close cousin to Triptykon, but more than anything else, it’s a highly complex undertaking that may bear repeated listens before its full character is revealed.

Release Date: January 23rd, 2026
Record Label: Season Of Mist
Genre: Progressive Metal

Musicians:

• Morean / Vocals, guitar
• Hannes Grossmann / Drums
• Linus Klausenitzer / Bass
• Justin Hombach / Guitar
• Max Blok / Guitar

Guest musicians:

• Rianne Wilbers / Soprano
• Chrysa Tsaltampasi / Soprano
• Julija Hartig / Violin
• Oene van Geel / 5-string violin
• Marieke Hopman / Accordion
• Ketevan Roinishvili / Cello

Bach Out Of Bounds Tracklist:

1. Allegro (BWV 1052-I)
2. Adagio – All Is Vanity (BWV 1052-II)
3. Beneath the Sea
4. Cthulhu
5. Haunter of the Void
6. A Fool’s Desire
7. Agnus Dei (BWV 232)
8. The Fungi from Yuggoth

Order the album here.