These German fellows have been around since 2000, rather surprisingly. I say surprisingly because although the name rings a tiny bell somewhere in my head, ‘The Art of Coming Apart’ is my first actual encounter with the band. To herald the emergence of their fourth album in style, the press release boasts a glowing appraisal from none other than Dan Swanö (who mastered the CD): “These guys take all the various forms of brutal early 90s Swedish Metal and add a pinch of German precision and create a blend that is lethal! A killer album of melodic brutality!” Intrigued? Me too.
The title track coaxes the album into life with a soothing intro, only to be very quickly usurped by fast Swedish death metal with echoes of At The Gates and The Crown. From the off, a great deal of satisfying melody weaves itself through FOU’s aggressive framework of Swede death. Demonstrating additional touches of Necrophobic and Dissection styled blackness, an early 90s influence certainly does pervade. As is (or was) customary for such bands, a fair amount of emphasis is put on slowing down for atmosphere to manifest before the throttle is re-opened to full, blasting capacity… An effect which rarely loses its charm. While riffs and leads effortlessly slide off fretboards, a severe lack of bass within the mix is perhaps the hardest thing to ignore. With thudding kick drums and guitar lines busily hogging the instrumental limelight, it’s not easy to pin down what’s going on to begin with. Therefore listening through headphones comes highly recommended in order to add a little more clarity, depth and perspective on what FOU are up to.
Song-wise, the record flies by. Even when things go doom-like slow, as at the start of ‘Hours of Suffering’, a venomous attack lurks just beyond it. The one track which does cast its gaze more concertedly away from speed is ‘Memorial Stone’. Aside from a few sporadic nods to Unleashed, the composition is content to lurch forward into battle – not unlike another Viking band whose name ends in ‘Amarth’. That said, FOU’s fierce musicality remains to keep things interesting. With the slower pace of this fifth track, comes the clearest disadvantage of having such a trebly production. Although at one point there is an audible pop from one of Christopher Körtgen’s strings there is, more than ever, a sore lack of intimidating low-end. (An impression which, as indicated earlier, applies to the album as a whole). On the plus side, there is an abundance of nuanced speed and melody in the remaining full-on assaults, such as ‘A Silence Dressed in Black’, ‘Trapping the Unseen’ and ‘Seasons of Tranquility’ to gloss over such details.
One aspect I do very much like about FOU (and maybe their closest resemblance to Edge Of Sanity) is their penchant for incorporating the odd acoustic and clean guitar part; the brief instrumental, ‘Sundown’, being the foremost example. When all is said and done, FOU have committed a decent album to tape (perhaps ‘digital file’ would be more accurate…) which showcases more than a few flashes of pure brilliance. Although ‘The Art of Coming Apart’ does nothing revolutionary in terms of aggressive melodic death metal, it is sure to get locks flailing.
(7.5/10 Jamie Wilson)
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