A prerequisite for me was to listen first to Farsot’s “Insects” (2011), which I would list as one of my favourite albums of all. Creeping, nightmarish and infectious, it really should be available on free prescription for those miserable souls who suffer from a deficiency of black metal. I must say that Farsot caught me out with “Fail-ure”. It’s been six years of waiting.
No insects this time, as now “Fail-lure”, signifying failure + allure, is based on Peter Greenaway’s grisly “Drowning by Numbers” and other Art Nouveau works. Nightmarish laughter gets us under way. The guitar work is merciless and the drums hammer amid ranting growls. There’s always a creepy edge. We’re entering a ghoulish world of ghastly horror. This delightful piece has a Mayhem-like undercurrent. A haunting moan can be heard in the background. There’s a lot going on here. “Vitriolic” is always mobile, always dark and intense. A break provides a pause for a dramatic interlude. Fear is in the air. The growls have come deathly. A thunderous, yet melodic cascade precedes the majestically dark ending of this nine minute monster. But there’s no time to take breath. Echoing guitar strains are accompanied by whispers and the ever present menace. A fiery burst erupts. Then there’s a melancholic strains, punctuated by screams. Farsot combine atmospheres. It’s morbid, threatening, dreamy and lush. The scene progresses and transforms but it’s always logical, thought-provoking and fluid. “Surrounded by the scent of solitude”, growls the vocalist ominously. The guitar’s pendulum-like tune swings like a noose. Violence threads its way in. “Obsidian Hands” opens patiently, but the calm is soon interrupted by manic screams, recalling Farsot’s morbid fellow countrymen Dark Fortress. A whistling sound in the background sweeps through the scene like a cold air. The drum and guitar combine to provide a steady rhythm and at the same time thunderous power. The world rattles and shakes as we move into more unstable, urgent territory. The atmosphere is immense. Farsot declare more inexorable statements of intent. The ship is steadied momentarily before we are taken into stormier seas. Haunting vocals give way to death-like screams as the tension heightens once more. It’s a grisly scene but one which transforms and leads us through sophisticated passages of sadness, dark melodies and fire. “Obsidian Hands” ends in lush fashion. Psychological warfare dominates the work of Farsot but it’s also full of surprises. It always captures the imagination.
“Undercurrents” is not only the title of a track, but captures the idea of this nasty, swirling listening experience. It’s creepy, ugly and drags us through a trail of slime. This is like Dark Fortress again. This modern black metal style has kind of catchy melody but it’s really just to hook you into this world of torture and nastiness. The riff is deep and dark. A chanted chorus accompanies a languid yet rich passage. It is again expanded with the use of sound. The atmosphere is big. Musical fire and fury erupt, not to set us alight, but to drown us in the bleak and decaying world, the world of “slow rivers dripping down the rivers of inertia”. This moody track ends in the echoing world of voids and explosions. The explosions turn into powerful drum beats. “The Antagonist” is a noise wall of ghastly horror and self-doubt. “Who am I?” is the ritualistic chorus. We are swamped in the controlled indulgence. We are left with “A Hundred to Nothing”, referring no doubt to the “Drowning by Numbers” theme. In spite of the grisly theme, the bass guitar leads in a colourful melodic line, which creates an air of expectation before subtly creating metal mists. Like all that has gone before it, it is musically fresh and challenges our senses.
“Fail-lure” is another exceptional album from Farsot. What I like so much about this band is that their music never stands still. Soundscapes are vivid, but all the time the structures are designed so that each passage blends into the next, taking us to the next step like a story progressing as the carefully managed scenes evolve all the time. Farsot never resort to raw violence, but there is the constant, everlasting threat. Yet there is also unexpected colour and even charm in the music – it’s what the lure part of the album title is referring to, I suppose. At the same time there’s the failure: the psychological warfare and torment, which ingrain themselves and infect our minds. Farsot have released another grisly masterpiece.
(9.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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