CoC : Farsot - IIII : Review

Farsot - _IIII_
(Lupus Lounge / Prophecy, 2007)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7.5 out of 10)

Black metal with an advertised dose of experimentation is what Farsot have to offer, but for once that doesn't mean The Kovenant or Arcturus served as source of inspiration. _IIII_ (which is incidentally the band's debut album) is neither drenched in electronics nor progressive in a technical sense. Instead, Farsot's experimentation pits relatively conventional, aggressive but somewhat melodic black metal against occasional noise elements and atmospheric passages. It's not like that's never been done before, but it remains sufficiently rooted in competent, well played black metal to be enjoyable in an understated way, while the experimental elements are sufficiently well woven into the music to remain unobtrusive.

_IIII_ is unlikely to be considered revolutionary, but it has enough individuality to deserve some attention, and also some really good passages. A great change of pace after the 2:00 mark on the excellent "Thematik: Tod" springs to mind, and it is followed by some Bethlehem- like shrieking and great interplay between the bass line and the lead guitar; very nice. The album isn't always quite that successful, or the rating would have been higher, but _IIII_ still remains an interesting debut that will make me keep an eye out for the follow-up record.

Contact: http://www.lupuslounge.com

(article published 11/3/2008)