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.