FINSTERFORST "Zerfall"
FINSTERFORST
"Zerfall"
Are you ready for a 36 minute plus song? FINSTERFORST thinks so. I'm not so sure. I can name all the bands capable of doing an engaging half hour plus track on about two fingers. Even the great classical composers could rarely accomplish such a feat.
FINSTERFORST, in case you didn't know, is a German pagan metal band specializing in ultra-bombastic and ultra-epic tunes. I remember their album "Macht Dich Frei" as being pretty good. "Zerfall" is said to be in that tradition. Ironically, the album works pretty well...until we get to "Ecce Homo", that mammoth cut I alluded to earlier. Prior to that, we have four other lengthy songs to deal with, all featuring German lyrics, robust monk-like choral vocals, thick layers of symphonic synth and crunching metal riffs. "Wut" has some of the crunchiest...powerful tank-like chords coupled with those lusty Viking vocals. Hurdy gurdy and accordion jump in to add a folky feel to the metallic thunder. That one goes for 13 minutes plus. In further irony, the title track is a "mere" eight and a half minutes and leans towards sorrowful melody and atmosphere. Then we have another massive cruncher in "Fluch des Seins" that sounds truly majestic at some points and the faster, somewhat more aggressive "Weltenbrand".
That leaves us with the monstrous "Ecce Homo", which I fervently hope will be the longest track I hear this year.. It takes a prodigious fear of songwriting to hold the interest for such a long spell and this one just doesn't cut it. In fact, I found my attention wandering after five minutes. This one has a lot of post metal feeling to it, with some long stretches of minor key ambience mixing with the Teutonic pagan metal opera. On the whole, it just doesn't command my attention. Some things should just never be attempted.
FINSTERFORST are an ambitious and talented band and there's much to admire about "Zerfall", especially if you're into pagan or Viking metal, but it would have been better without "Ecce Homo".
FINSTERFORST
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