Farsot – Insects

 

Farsot is a black metal band from Germany.  “Insects” is their second release.  But this is not your father’s black metal.    I’m sure someone more clever than me could tell you that this is “post blah blah blah”, and I’m not really all that attached to all the sub genres in metal.  What I can tell you is that this is good stuff.

There are some very traditional elements and some very experimental elements at work here.  The mix of these elements combines to make this a very interesting album.  Opener “Like Flakes Of Rust” begins with what sounds like a swarm of insects and sets the tone.   There is some narration throughout the album that was either written for this or they sure found some sweet samples that are just right.  There are robotic, metallic sounding vocals that are just what you imagine our insect overlords would sound like.  There are some nice acoustic moments throughout as well.  And these are all combined in ways that make this a very interesting album.

I’m not sure if this is intended as a concept album but there are definite themes that unify this release.  The songs flow together nicely, there are no jarring transitions, and what I can understand of the lyrics all makes me think that this is of a piece and not just eight independent tracks.  The press release accompanying this album points out that the band spent four years putting this together, which is a long time, but then again, when the final results are this good then obviously time well spent.

It seems to me that more extreme metal is making some inroads and that more people are taking note of this music.  This is the kind of release that will help that process.  There is nothing here that is simply shock value to get attention, or extreme just for the sake of being extreme, or any of the other tired tricks that metal bands will roll out from time to time.  Just a good solid, well written, well performed group of songs released into the world.

I like music that challenges me and takes me in directions that I was not expecting.  Metal has its share of cookie cutter, copycat bands, bands that just play by the numbers, and bands that are unimaginative.  It is very refreshing to hear a band like Farsot that does not seem to follow any conventions, but rather seems to have something to say and knows how to say it.

--Odin