November 20, 2014

Farsot - Insects

Written by Natalie Zina Walschots. Originally published here by Exclaim.


Insects is the first album that German experimental black metal band Farsot have produced in four years, the most recent being their debut, IIII, also released via Prophecy's Lupus Lounge imprint. Farsot provide an excellent example of what's possible for black metal with excellent production.

Defining themselves as "progressive black metal," Farsot choose not to hide behind the obfuscation of corrupted recordings and instead let the skillfulness and subtlety of their work stand for themselves. For example, each trembling note of "7" has its own distinct identity and illumination, like a dust mote in a sunbeam. On "Vermillion Trail," the twisting, coiling nature of the song construction and churning guitars are brought to the forefront, emphasizing the muscular force of the piece while also allowing for the gentler, tremulous instrumental passages to hold their own.

Vocalist 10.XIXt (all the band members are known only by a string of letters and numbers) has a guttural, almost robotic tone that tends to make the songs heavier, sliming the delicate edges. Insects is an apt title for this buzzing swarm of an album, glittering with an alien intelligence and wriggling with uncanny strength.


[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]


Check out the Prophecy Productions Bandcamp here.

4 comments:
  1. I'm loving the great production for this genre! This black metal band is a treasure.

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    1. Yeah, that bass line in the "Like Flakes of Rust" is to die for. Great that it isn't buried in a messy lo-fi production.

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  2. So excited to see Prophecy on BC!

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    1. Agreed, so much good stuff there to dig through.

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