Album number four by German forest-friends Finsterforst. Seven titles, lasting for more than seventy five minutes!
Natural sounds, folkish tradition, epic majesty and adventurous paganism, Rastlos is a grandiose bathorian journey through moody commonalties and winter-like landscapes. With inclusion of a fully horn section, accordion, acoustic passages, spherical synths and epic choirs, the pounding Viking Metal hymns correspond perfectly to the varying vocals, which interact in between grim screams, deep grunts, harmonious choirs, clean chants etc.
What about originality, I hear you think?... Well, actually there is quasi none. But no matter, because within this specific genre it is almost impossible to add something new, something renewing. Finsterforst do not either, but they have the advantage of being ‘more than just average’ … Oops, sorry, I did mention the horn blowers before, and that for sure is a great own-specifying characteristic, of undeniable importance, so there you have your needed originality.
Besides, the songs are, like a perfectly balanced Bathory era-Hammerheart (and the hundreds of comparable releases done afterwards), 1) extremely ‘full’ of sound, 2) perfectly equilibrated in cohesion, 3) enormously varied, and 4) almost never pathetically idiotising, like, unfortunately, many, too many comparable acts sickeningly do.
5), 6) and 7) have to do with nice song writing, a splendid atmosphere and a superior production.
8) and 9) etc.
It is refreshing to hear such a nice balance of energetic and pounding Viking / Black parts, quasi-happy Folk excerpts, ritualistic integrity, bombastic heroism and / or ancient tradition in such a well-balanced and refreshing symbiosis.
Recommended to fans of Bathory’s Viking-era, Thyrfing, Allfader, Nachtfalke, Moonsorrow, Falkenbach, Finntroll, Windir, (and in case you’re not too narrow-minded) early Ulver etc.