- Country: Germany
- Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal / Folk Metal / Symphonic Metal / Progressive Metal
- For fans of: Moonsorrow, Enslaved, Borknagar
FINSTERFORST – Still
Finsterforst from Germany have had a sound that is hard to mistake for about twenty years now. Long songs, Black Metal vocals, clean epic vocals, guitars that fill the room, choirs, keys and, of course, accordion. They are one of those bands that really make you feel they should be heard at the top of a mountain.
“Still” is their sixth full-length and shows a band that wants to try a few different things, without leaving behind what made them known.
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More clean guitars and vocals
From the start there is a small change in the way Finsterforst set up their songs. The clean guitars have a bigger role and usually sound full of reverb, while the keys appear more often.
In “Obduktion” there are electronic passages behind the guitars, while in “Herbstwanderung” the keys create a calmer and darker atmosphere.
An even bigger change is the clean vocals. Johannes Joseph has more room this time and the result is especially good when the band lets the music breathe.
“Knie nieder” moves more in this direction, while “Im Wind” has fairly long acoustic sections that work as a small breath within the record.
Finsterforst remain Finsterforst
The problem is that, despite the changes, the band’s core sound has not changed much.
And that is not necessarily bad.
Finsterforst have such a specific identity that they could hardly release a record that does not sound like Finsterforst. The issue with “Still” is more the pacing.
The songs are shorter than we are used to. Usually Finsterforst are not afraid to go over ten minutes, while here only two of the nine tracks exceed that length.
Strangely, the shorter songs often feel longer.
Why? Because the band continues to write in that huge, epic way. So, while the album runs about 64 minutes without the two covers, you get the sense that it is even longer.
“Fels” is something different
“Fels” is perhaps the record’s biggest surprise.
It is a purely acoustic track and essentially works as a ballad, something we are not used to from Finsterforst.
Here Joseph has all the room he needs and his voice truly stands out. Toward the end the other members come in with polyphonic vocals and the result is among the most beautiful moments of the album.
“Stille Nacht” also has plenty of acoustic sections and lets the music move more calmly, before the band returns to its familiar epic style.
And when Finsterforst do what they know best, they really rarely disappoint.
“Leere”, which reaches 24 minutes, is a prime example. Here the band is let loose to build a long track with shifts, guitars that rise and fall, orchestral passages and plenty of atmosphere.
It is exactly at moments like these that you understand why the long format suits Finsterforst so well.
The two covers
Toward the end come two tracks that are not officially bonus tracks, but that is how they sound.
The first is Immortal‘s “Beyond the North Waves”. Finsterforst do not change it much and stay fairly close to the original Black Metal style.
More interesting is Pink Floyd‘s “Another Brick in the Wall Part II”.
Here the band takes a song fairly far from its own sound and turns it into a heavy, epic track. The Black Forest choir comes in on the second verse and gives even greater volume, while Simon Käflein takes on a solo that fits perfectly with his own guitar aesthetic.
And in the end this cover works much better than one would expect.
“Still” is not a record that changes Finsterforst. The new ideas with the clean guitars, the extra keys and the clean vocals are welcome, but they do not transform their sound.
There are points that work excellently and others where the band seems to be searching a little for the right direction. Even so, when the guitars open up, the choirs take their place and Joseph raises his voice, Finsterforst remind you why they have earned such a distinctive place in Folk Metal.
“Im Wind”, “Stille Nacht” and “Fels” give a different side, while the enormous “Leere” is where the band returns fully to its own waters.
“Still” may not be their boldest work, but it has plenty of moments that are worth it. And from a band that has built such a specific sound, consistency is not a bad thing at all.
Tracklist
- Obduktion – 08:12
- Herbstwanderung – 05:57
- Knie nieder – 04:05
- Im Wind – 10:28
- Stille Nacht – 06:19
- Fels – 04:24
- Leere – 24:11
- Beyond the North Waves – 07:57
- Another Brick in the Wall Pt. II – 06:20
