Previously known for covering “I Break” by Katatonia for a recent tribute album (yep, Katatonia rules all in this house
), Germany’s Farsot have a bit of an unconventional approach to modern black metal. Aside from their pseudonyms that are numbers as opposed to real names, Farsot takes several satisfying detours over the course of this platter, often working around the traditional BM framework, but always coming back home when they have to.
On IIII, the band mixes some brief, albeit massive melodic runs with dark, brooding atmospheres. This is most evident during the excellent “Thematik: Angst” where a diving melodic run gives way to a dirty, almost Shining-like (without the hysterics) approach.
“Angst-Tod” is sonically suffocating, with Farsot residing in the murky waters of caustic BM, while “Tod-Trauer” has a stake in the more avant-garde and experimental side of the band, only to gradually morph into a high-stakes, frenetic BM blazer.
A band to watch for in ’08, Farsot have not only a unique ideological stance (read some interviews with these guys – solid gold), but a mixed bag of tricks that panders to all sides of the BM fence. An album that refuses to stand in one spot, IIII is an immense and challenging slab of BM inventiveness.
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)