Farsot - "With Obsidian Hands" (Song Premiere)

April 6, 2017

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Germany’s Farsot made an impression six years ago with their sophomore album, Insects. That record’s cover featured an anatomical illustration of a human skull with the skin over the brain case peeled back. Usually black metal covers, and metal art in general, can seem like an afterthought, but in Farsot’s case the packaging matched the contents. Their take on the genre was psychological and introspective. They used their music to probe at nooks and crannies light does not usually touch; riffs as a scalpel prodding at the folds in gray matter.

The cover of their new record, Fail·lure looks almost like a scarecrow. Scarecrows are almost as old as the practice of agriculture themselves, and evoke atavistic fears. Like the fairies of superstition, they are supposed to always be watching. Like all religious beliefs, they don’t do what they’re meant to (scare away grain-feeding birds, preserve an afterlife). These fears, stemming from superstition and observing the vastness of nature, come from that same brain case that Farsot poked at six years ago.

These observations are relevant because Farsot are still poking around these essential themes. They’re using their music to ask large questions, and explore large contradictions. The difference is that now their music sounds more ornate and experimental. Album opener “With Obsidian Hands” doubles down on all of these elements, by the band’s own admission.

They say:

“’With Obsidian Hands’ is a song of contrasts. Starting consciously traditional, the song ends up quite progressive and unexpected. Furious and still striving for calmness. This is how another classical Farsot song arose. A mind trip from our very beginning to the new Farsot era, making the game between loud and quiet once more to his own. This central resting pole of the album is accompanied by the lyrical relation to the night. The Night: Silent and deceptive, mysterious and dark.”

What they don’t mention is that the album sounds immaculate, of course thanks to producer V. Santura of Dark Fortress and Triptykon.

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