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Geist ist Teufel - 75%
"Geist ist Teufel", as their first full-length album, demonstrates the continuation as well as the advancement of Urfaust's unique dark and eerie sound from the previously released demo “Urväterlicher Sagen”. It seems like Urfaust is still experimenting, trying to find a main style and thereby combining old material and ideas with new ones. Though you have to say, that they did a great step towards a coherent and comprehensive message and managed to combine especially their exceptional style of clean and ceremonious vocals, consisting a range from mourning over grief-stricken to sinister, with the typical raw elements of 90's black metal. Additional to the already known dark ambient songs, which were retitled and used on the album again, Urfaust is using now, indeed a bass-lacking and minimalistic, but typical band line-up consisting vocals, guitar and drums. Admittedly the drums aren't very challenging in tempo, but driven by this monotone, groovy and partly still varied style of playing the hypnotic atmosphere intensifies greatly.
The production is more as acceptable, but sometimes you can hear an overdrive within the vocals. Not in a particularly bad way, but you can interpret in it, that probably the microphone or the recording equipment is reaching their acoustic limit. If you regard this aspect embed into the album, it creates an own kind of charm and is in my opinion typical for these kind of records. All in all not amateurish, but also not extraordinary. Retrospectively, referring to “Urväterlicher Sagen”, it is still not possible to understand the lyrics or even to distinguish if its Dutch or German, not because of a poor audio quality, but because of the style of singing. Additionally to the opera-like style of vocals, they using now also screams sounding like if he is racked with pain. It reminds me of a torture victim and though they seem very raw and refer more to screaming in the traditional meaning than the singing skill, they fit into the rhythm and are well placed. Their musical implementation of desperation is very impressive.
The guitar represent the classic chainsaw-like sound of 90's black metal, but stays most of the album in the background as an intensifying instrument for the repetitive arrangement. It sounds also not very progressive. In my eyes it seems they are using it just particularly as an leading instrument, but mostly as an acoustic carrier for the extraordinary vocals. An exemplary exception for this aspect is “Drudenfuß” with its strongly present guitar and its solo. Also referring to that song is symbolic for the structure of the album. It builds up and ends in a dark, desperate and sinister atmosphere, but in the middle of it, it just changes over into that major-scaled and folksy song. Admittedly, it got some good attempts for an evil sound, but all in all I don't see any good reason to use such an instrumentation, key and arrangement on an album in such a genre. It does create a contrast, but in my eyes it got more a negative aspect than an innovative one.
Regarded as a whole, the album fit mostly into a conclusive frame and is definitely a great and interesting contribution to music with its dark and desperate sound. The main substance of the typical Urfaust music is becoming more comprehensible for the listener and the band is getting a main direction.
Dutch Masterclass. - 80%
Urfaust are slowly, but surely becoming a band who require no introduction. Hailing from The Netherlands, otherwise known as Holland, Urfaust have exploded onto the scene with this undisputed classic of an album. Often when one is reviewing an album, one tends to state how much of a unique released the title is, well in this case that is certainly true and not a cliché whatsoever. If anything, cliché would be the last word used to describe this exquisite band. Urfaust's debut album, entitled "Geist ist Teuful" was released in the summer of 2004. It contains six tracks which span over a period of just under fifty minutes.
It has been well documented in the past, and undoubtedly will be in the future that Urfaust's leading man, Willem uses some of the most unique and awe-inspiring vocals to grace the Black Metal scene. Urfaust blend Raw Black Metal, with a touch of clean vocals. This was totally unexpected, and a shock to the system of first listen. However, the vocals are intoxicating to say the least. Willem blends an innovative style of clean vocals with the use of a more orthodox Black Metal screaming. Urfaust can be described as "raw" due to the highly distorted guitars and haunting screams of Willem, but also because of it's unique eerie atmospheric production. Urfaust ring out at a mid-paced tempo, never a faster pace than that which is perfect for the style Urfaust play. Drum patterns tend to be quite basic and repetitive, which essentially creates a specific type of atmosphere. On occasions the repetitiveness adds to the atmosphere and thus enhances the overall sound of the music. The vocals, as already stated are of extreme importance. They make the music what it is. Willem's vocals are emotive and portray a sense of pain and desperation, which compliments the music to an extent you wouldn't believe. I'd go as far to say that these are some of the best vocals you're likely to hear. The bass is often drown out, but still has its moments in enhancing the affect of the music in general on the listener. However simplistic this may be, it is exceptionally good and certainly worth at least a listen.
Highlight tracks include: Die Kalt Teufelsfaust and Auszug Aller Todlich Seinen Krafte, especially the latter.
Verräterischer, nichtswürdiger Geist - 70%
Mannaz _Musikal Moloch, April 4th, 2018
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The first steps of Urfaust were fascinating and regarding this album as a whole, their structure and sound has indeed improved. Extraordinary exceptions are the instrumental ambient songs, which are very satisfying listening to and are well composed. Although quite a bit long, they are on the one hand very eerie, but got on the other hand a slightly touch of bitterness and sadness. They seem to tell suspenseful stories without words, what makes you listen even more closely. But all in all it is difficult to take a clear position on that album, because some aspects of the arrangement and instrumentation aren't obvious to me.
I can understand the artistic aspect of overdrive and special effects, like flanger, but an overuse, for example like in “Verflucht das Blenden der Erscheinung” sounds just amateurish and is very exhausting listening to. In addition to that, the composition in a whole stays on a very moderate level. There are some good attempts for remarkable melodies like in “Der Gottesverächter”, but all in all the range of the chainsaw-like sounding guitar seems limited or in other words very expectable. The drums are typically mid-tempo and create a very monotone, hypnotic atmosphere. Its sound and the style of playing is slightly more advanced as on “Geist ist Teufel”. Also to mention, is that the drums are now composed in a way to create catchy hook-lines. Already known for the not understandable lyrics, which are in addition to that still linguistically not distinguishable between German and Dutch, Urfaust continue this mysterious path on „Verräterischer, nichtswürdiger Geist". Opera-like vocals combined with frightening screams full of pain in such a arrangement are definitely the signature aspect of Urfaust and is in my opinion a great achievement. But beside this very ceremonious and terrifying feeling regarding the vocals, most of it does not sound as passionate as on their previously released “Geist ist Teufel”. Indeed still powerful, but in my opinion there could have been more.
„Verräterischer, nichtswürdiger Geist" has got in my ears particularly the typical aspects of the Urfaust sound, but still seems to be very experimental. Regarding this aspect, if you are an experimental musician, than there are in my view only two options: you either create something extraordinary new, at least pave the way for it, or you fail and it is not possible for your listeners, at least for the most, to get the message within. Ironically, Urfaust did with this album both. They are following are very experimental and fascinating path, but now and then they trip. You can understand the main message of their music, but sometimes there are things, which are not obviously comprehensible. In conclusion, the album is definitely worth listening to, especially to perceive a impression for all these ideas of Urfaust, but first and foremost because it is an exciting, eerie, mystical and fascinating musical journey.
Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist. - 70%
Perplexed_Sjel, September 18th, 2007
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Urfaust took me by complete surprise the first time I had heard their unusual blend of music. I was unaware that the bands vocalist performed in such a way, with some form of clean vocals. Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist represents somewhat of a change to these unique vocals in the fact that they're not quite as cut throat or powerful as they were on Geist Ist Teufel. They're still emotive and hauntingly dark, but not to the same extent as they were on the massively impressive Geist Ist Teufel.
Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist continues where we left off on the debut full-length. This is in terms of the depressing atmospheric nature Urfaust creates with their unusual blend of clean and indecipherable screamed vocals. They're bellowed out with raw emotion and intense passion, this is a positive that has remained from the debut which is pleasing. Urfaust had managed to perfect the aforementioned aspects therefore there was no real need for change.
The buzzing chainsaw-esque guitars remain very much the same again. Playing at a generally slow pace, which compliments the vocals Urfaust have as they tend to be slow and transcendental in approach. The vocals can sometimes be swept away in the perpetually slow droning riffs. A negative with this approach to play is the fact that Urfaust have a very hazy production. Elements of the music can be lost in the haze and this can sometimes mean Urfaust lack direction.
The long drawn out ambient songs are needless in my opinion. They showcase next to nothing of Urfaust's undeniable ability. I'm not overly fond of orchestral music as it is, so these parts can often be hard for me to appreciate. Elements like this can be risky. It entirely depends upon the listener as to whether they will understand the need for such occurrences. Said passages add no depth and detract from the depressingly dark atmosphere that Urfaust have spent the majority of the album creating. It can seem like you're listening to two very different bands and two very contrasting albums.
Contrasting emotions are also somewhat problematic here. Verflucht das Blenden der Erscheinung for example appears quite upbeat, whereas other songs will seem completely dissonant and differ from the moods and tones Urfaust have laid down. Der Gottesverächter is a good example of a contrasting song with it's mid paced melodies and stunning rhythmic nature. Urfaust have followed up a great full-length, with a rather mixed bag. Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist fails to harness what the previous full-length had established and thus leaves the listener feeling dissatisfied. Ragnarök Mystiker is a particular highlight.
Eerie black metal - 98%
WickedSaint, September 3rd, 2006
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This stuff is incredible. I've been a fan of Urfaust for a very long time now, and they never cease to amaze me. There's always some new little detail to discover through the poor recording-quality. Because the quality of the recording is very low, but everything is still audiable and it serves to create a great atmosphere and enhance the already eerie and haunting feeling created by the droning riffs and drums and Willem's incredible vocals, ranging from tortured screams and howls to the sludgy, almost drunken clean singing and what sounds like the secluded and mournful rambelings of a man tortured by insanity and lonlines.
This album is majestically started with the epic classical piece Dunkel, Still von Ewigkeit (Dark, silent eternity), clocking in at over 13 minutes, which builds up a great atmosphere, starting of softly and over the last two minutes building up to a booming climax then setting of Ragnarök Mystiker. This song is quite representative with it's triplet/shuffle-feel on the instruments, the very characteristic singing of Willem and the droning guitar and simple drums. This is continued by Gespinnst der Verderbens (Web of Destruction) following in the same vein as Ragnarök Mystiker, sending the listener into a trance of repetition and great atmosphere to the point where the music isn't even there anymore, it's not music, it's just something that is there, that surrounds you with it's tortured chants and mauling distortion on the guitar. This is then followed by Trauerhöhle (Cave of Sorrow), an ambient track at over 10 minutes of length, in the same vein as Dunkel, Still von Ewigkeit, but more droning at first but with the same type of climax. Verflucht das Bleden der Erscheinung (Cursed the blinding of appearance ) follows closely behind with a very sinister intro and some extremely tortured screams. The mood is set by the intro and it follows through the entire song, it puts you back in the trance. Der Gottesverächter (The Despiser of God) is probably one of my favourite songs on this album, it's more melodic than the song proceeding it and the vocals are mostly clean and very melodic. Closing the album is In den Weiten Öden Raumen (In the wide, deserted rooms), another ambient track and the shortest one of those on the album, a very mellow song for the most part, serving as a great closer and gets you out of your trance.
All in all, a bloody great album by one of my favourite metal bands, well worth buying, although I guess you either love it or hate it, since it can be quite weird at times. A definite gem and must have in black metal.
Eerie to the bone and very unique - 83%
Mexer, January 22nd, 2016
Written based on this version: 2010, 12" vinyl, Ván Records (Intoxication edition, Red vinyl)
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"Der freiwillige Bettler" was the first of Urfaust's releases I stumbled upon - and man, am I glad I did.
A straight beat, a simple guitar lead and some extremely haunting vocal lines get things going on this album and thus set the tone for what's to come. This one's not at all about showing off technical abilities, nor speed or complex structures in songwriting - it just serves the listener with lots and lots of atmosphere. It's dark, it's intense and certainly offers some serious madness crawling from the speakers into your living room.
To keep things straight, this Dutch duo celebrates a waltz of madness straight out of the dark corners of the mind; the kind of gloomy dark corners that haunt your nightmares. Expect some very basic yet sometimes extremely distorted riffing, a rather scaled-back pacing and two artists for whom composing and recording their material seems to be as equally important as getting their hands on the recorded material's post production. Reverb on spooky stand-alone piano parts, heavy distortion on rather monotonous, reduced riffs and straight drums providing a rich, dominant sound make this album what it is - along with the very unique vocals. Apart from very few excursions into a more extreme vocal style that comes along rather in shrieks than screams, the predominant element on this record are clear vocals; vocals that are done in an extremely specific, deep, unearthly kind of manic sounding chanting style that makes the listener feel extremely uncomfortable due to its conjuring nature. One of the all too rare cases in which even seasoned metal heads won't have too many bands to compare Urfaust's sound to.
This record's production focuses on rhythm and low-pitched sounds - while there is quite some degree of detail on this album's sound, especially concerning some subtle melodies from the lead guitar on some tracks, don't expect a firework of hidden treasures buried under this wall of sound. Sometimes things get repetitive for the sake of lulling you into a false sense of security, before things are taken up a step all of a sudden by enforcing a faster beat that carries some eerie vocals with it. And just when you've adapted yourself to the set mood, things tend to come to an abrupt stop and provoke a serious interest of what will follow.
If this album can be categorized at all, this has much more to do with doom metal than (old school) black metal; yet its atmosphere is what makes it extremely "black". The drone aspect in some of the riffs and the somewhat ambient approach to sound are Urfaust's keys to the attention and involvement of the listener. If you're one of the guys that sometimes gets laughed at for loving the atmosphere some bands provide (since it's something one often can't put into words, it just seems to be there), than this one might probably be for you. At least you should give it a listen to judge on your own. And whether you like it or not in its entirety, I promise you that this will be a worthwhile effort, regarding the simplistic yet unique structure of this music and the broad spectrum of haunting vocals. And while the material itself is not extremely easy to grasp on your first time around, some short parts are tremendously catchy to get you started.
"Der freiwillige Bettler" is very distinct from what most people think of as "extreme metal" but yet, it definitely is one of its finest representatives of this decade so far.
A career-defining moment for Urfaust - 85%
gerrobbo, March 18th, 2011
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Urfaust emits some of the most unusual Black Metal out there and nowhere has this ever been more apparent than on their third full-length, ‘Der Freiwillige Bettler’, brought to you courtesy of German label Ván Records. I purchased the Intoxication Edition of the record, which comes with a sumptuous old school gatefold sleeve with a flap, including a 12-page booklet replete with lyrics and etched onto blue vinyl. It’s a beautiful package; one you could look at all day if you’re a nerd like me with no life.
Five years after their last LP (during which time we were served intermittent EPs and splits), the Dutch duo have returned with an album that meshes Black Metal, doom and dark ambience with all manner of weirdness. This music is simply disturbing, unsettling and pure damn mesmerising. The vocals are otherworldly, arguably the most atypical BM voice you’re ever likely to hear: chanted, Gregorian sermons that could well come from an altar in some decayed church on the outskirts of civilisation.
Part Circle of Ouroborous; part Pete Steele; part Candlemass; part fucking lunatic; part priest. (I realise the last two parts are practically the same thing.) No croaks, no rasps, no shrill shrieks – just that patented, disturbing chant that’s closer to classic doom than black, in all honesty, but fits Urfaust’s music like a glove. Whereas some BM vocalists sound like frogs or fraggles, IX comes across as being completely insane. Which is good, of course.
The production is spot-on, with every note allowed to creep through the gloom, and the clever use of synth breathes further life into proceedings, adding depth and scope to an already multifaceted work. The songs march along – often at funereal pace, somtimes brisker – with sombre menace, an unnerving amalgam of black and doom that is wholly unique and worthy of further investigation. If you ever decide to perform a candlelit ritual in a cave that happens to have a sound system installed, this is the record you should bring with you. ‘DFB’ represents a career-defining moment for Urfaust and is undoubtedly a record I’ll be listening to over and over again.
(Review originally appears on www.blackmetalreviews.com)
Their Best Yet. - 85%
Perplexed_Sjel, January 20th, 2011
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After some much needed time out from reviewing and, in fact, listening to metal, I’ve rediscovered my passion for the genre with the help of a few classics and, in this case, an album spawned towards the tail end of 2010, courtesy of reliable record label, Ván. Urfaust, a fiercely loved but criminally underrated band are back with their third full-length album, entitled ‘Der freiwillige Bettler’, after a period of silence for five long years. The agonising wait for a new album has ended and it’s fair to say that Urfaust have delivered, once again, with one of the better performances of an already strong 2010 year in metal music. Since I tend to shy away from following musicians closely through social networking sites, I had little to no expectations of this album, although I had heard through a friend of a friend that it would be more focused on metal, as opposed to dark ambient, a sub-genre Urfaust have worked well with for a number of years.
This is most certainly the case when in comes to ‘Der freiwillige Bettler’. This album tends to move away from the largely ambient approach of the previous two albums. I had always liked the dark ambient side to Urfaust but my main passion lies within metal and I can often find myself getting frustrated with long passages of barely noticeable ambiance. I’ve often stated that black metal bands who embrace the ambient side to music tend to fall flat on their faces when they make the grave mistake of focusing too much on one side and not enough on the other. Urfaust, to be honest, are culprits themselves at times. Take the debut, for example. It looked to mesh black metal and dark ambient into the one album but the two were very distant from one another. Whilst one song would be almost entirely ambient, the next would reek of black metal. Ambient bands within the genre often make this mistake. They fail to distinguish a connection or a relationship between the two genres.
The debut showcases how Urfaust could be brilliant at writing music that fell into two vastly different genres but how they also lacked at bringing the two together to form something truly extraordinary. This album, thankfully, seems to have learned some lessons based on past experiences. Unlike the debut, ‘Der freiwillige Bettler’ consists mostly of mesmerising black metal anthems, although certain tracks, a la the title track, can feel like fillers, despite the use of chanted vocals. However this approach doesn’t exactly feel unnecessary to me, although I would have preferred the album to keep along the same lines as the opening song, a beautiful blasting of bouncy black metal full of bass, a bombastic production and exceptional Gregorian-esque vocals. This album doesn’t tend to dell too long on the ambient soundscapes, which I greatly appreciate. Urfaust are at their very best when they forge a relationship between the bouncy bass lines, superbly mesmerising riffs and the wonderfully chanted vocals - with IX being at his best, as per usual. The vocals are truly remarkable. IX is definitely one of my favourites in the black metal genre. He has such a unique voice and one that never fails to impress me, or send shivers down my spine.
On this particular album however, he chooses to take a different approach on occasions, albeit infrequently, with depressive black metal styled shrieks although, as I said, these are infrequent in comparison to his chanted vocals, brilliantly illustrated on songs like ‘Der Mensch, die kleine Narrenwelt’. I tend to agree with the general consensus that this is Urfaust at their pinnacle. Not only has the song writing improved but I feel the fresh approach that the production has taken has significantly altered the way I view this bands orchestral influenced music. Songs like the opening track and ‘Das Kind mit dem Spiegel’ tend to be exemplary when it comes to highlighting how Urfaust have altered their shape ever-so-slightly to have a much fuller sound. The production, as touched upon, has changed. The production on the debut, with hindsight, sounds rather flat in comparison to this album. The bass, in particular, is giving a much more prominent role to play than it has ever been given before and that is partially down to the alterations in production. As I said, it’s far more bombastic, meaning that the bass has this bouncy quality to it that works well with the tremolo riffs.
Although much of the basis of this album is repetitive, it works, especially when the synths work in contrast to the more quintessential elements like the bass, drums and guitars. The synths, as shown on songs like ‘Der Mensch, die kleine Narrenwelt’, are strong and very well focused. The song writing has improved in such a way that the backbone to Urfaust can remain interesting despite being rather repetitive. Although I can imagine why some might become frustrated by the lack of foreground experimentation. I do feel however that, buried beneath those crushing cymbals, snares and distortion that Urfaust do vary their approach when it comes to the underbelly of their music - specifically the bass, which is incredible on songs like the aforementioned and the wonderfully catchy and upbeat ‘Ein leeres Zauberspiel’. For long periods though the bass does follow orders from the general - the guitars. So, all in all, this is definitely Urfaust’s best effort and, although it isn’t as haunting as their previous efforts, it still has a lot to give in other departments, particularly when it comes to the fresh production and improved, fuller song writing.
The next step - 95%
HeidraCatharsis, December 2nd, 2010
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Since their debut album, Geist Ist Teufel, Urfaust have managed to gain a relatively small but fiercely devoted fanbase. Not that it's surprising; the drunken Dutch duo have a way of polarizing listeners with their unique, ritualistic blend of black/doom metal. Operating as a duo in itself has set them apart from other bands one might compare them with; the absence of bass, VRDRBR's minimalistic and precise drumming and IX's crushing riffs and haunting chants doesn't make for music that sticks at first listen. But once you start walking down the path of appreciation for this eccentric black art, you're not coming back any time soon.
Der freiwillige Bettler, to me, marks the high point of Urfaust's career. It's simply the perfect, most logical next step in their creative direction. The production is much more elaborate than on previous releases, featuring both bass, male choirs(probably supplied entirely by IX) and much more guitar and keyboard layers in each song, giving the entire album a texture richer than that of anything they've achieved so far. Whereas the sparse, thin sound of the previous albums worked perfectly, Urfaust don't have the need to play the shabby production card to cover up lack of musicianship. They utilize all the new musical elements flawlessly. The solid, marching rhythms and forceful guitar riffs from releases such as Verrätischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist and the material from their various split releases has been mated with the keyboard-soaked black mass ambience of Drei Ritualen Jenseits Des Kosmos, with perfect balance and a hitherto unseen sense of details such as the interplay between the guitars and the keyboards. IX's trademark vocals are better and more varied than ever; from Xasthur-like DSBM shrieks to multi-layered, impossibly high-pitched Gregorian-like chants.
Urfaust have taken the next step in their career, and they're as ready as can be. Their discography up until this album will endure in its simplistic uniquity, whereas this blend of every good element from the previous releases(and several new ones) gives their talent and musicianship even better justice, and I can only hope that this album coupled with their busy live schedule will attract the widespread attention they've been deserving all this time. Light a shitload of candles, unscrew the bottle and fire up the weed, and you're all set for a solemn, powerful ritual in the name of intoxicated madness.
Empty Space Meditation - 50%
''Empty Space Meditation'' is not anything special. At first, after skipping the pointless and long intro, the album actually seemed pretty good. The main riff was quite strong, very atmospheric and interesting, however I quickly came to realize that the album just gets worse and worse.
About halfway through the second track, the first real song, the clean vocals appear, and you instantly like the album less. It's not that they're bad, they are good vocals, it's rather the fact that they don't fit in with the musical theme and atmosphere, and comes across as incredibly forced and out of place. They're somewhat hard to explain, they almost sound like old blues vocals maybe? Some weird, spastic punk vocals? I genuinely have no idea how to categorize them, they're just so bloody strange. One thing I do know, however, they did not fit in at all, and totally ruins the atmosphere.
The rest of the songs aren't very interesting. It's clear that an attempt to create a sort of cosmic, hypnotising atmosphere or something, but it just doesn't work, the riffs are quite dull, they all blend together into boring, forgetful mediocrity. It sounds like a mix of ''Fallen from Firmament'' and the ''Darkspace'' albums, however without any of the creative elements. When I try to think back at what I heard, it's quite hard, there's just nothing that stands out or even makes a slight impression on you.
There are a few good things to say about the album, however. The production is ok, as in I can hear what's going on, the drumming is good, it fits with the atmosphere and feels natural. I must say that it does seem like they put a solid effort into this album, which is why I'm not giving it an even lower score. They do seem passionate about their album, and I do appreciate the fact that they tried to do something with the vocals, even though they were somewhat of a failure.
If this review seems a bit scarce, it's simply because there's nothing more to say. Apart from the weird vocals, there was absolutely nothing that stood out to me. At the first listen, the music was bearable. But on further listening, I just get really bored, and end up listening to something else.
empty indeed - 23%
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Let's make one thing absolutely clear. This is not the Urfaust you knew and loved. At best this album sounds like the sonic manifestation of complacency in terms of urfaust just imitating their past works with none of the good music or ideas and at worst it sounds like a poor copycat omitting all the actually interesting elements of their music.
First of all the production. It sounds too polished and shiny to carry any real atmosphere. It is to older Urfaust records what bands like Fides Inversa are to DsO. It is not significantly cleaner (or rather most of their past work is not significantly more lo-fi) but it is lacking in character. Hilariously enough it kind of sounds like urfaust are taking notes from that garbage "post-black metal" trend. I don't have much experience with those bands but I imagine they sound a lot like this album. And this is all the more laughable when you consider how many years ago urfaust were post-black metal with their innovative style.
Even if the music here was satisfactory I would consider the production to be extremely detrimental to the experience. Speaking of that however, there is almost not a single worthwhile musical idea to be found herein. The album just drones on and on for literally half an hour before anything even slightly exciting happens, and by that time you realize that just like the tracks that preceeded it, this track just pales in comparison to the band's previous efforts. Anything before or after that is not just lackluster in its execution, but flat out inexcusable in terms of songwriting or ideas. Just from the intro I could tell that this would be a boring record, as it showcases this exact lack of notable ideas. It's very uninspired and overstays its welcome. And what follows that is a monotonous sea of generic melodies that not much effort could have gone into composing as well as the most underwhelming vocals we've heard from Willem so far. Sometimes it's fast, sometimes it's slow. Sometimes the guitars and blasting drums are in the front and sometimes the singing is. None of this matters however.
There is no substance to this record, just get Einsiedler and forget this even exists.
Deepest wounds of the cosmos. - 95%
After some stints in folk and black metal bands in the late 90’s guitarist/vocalist IX formed Urfaust as a solo ambient project and quickly set to work on an ambient record that only showed curious hints of what was to come. The ‘Urväterlicher Sagen’ demo was quite standard ambient fare for the time but IX‘s vocals stood out immediately as some sort of crowing wizard howling enchantments to seal off a great forest from intruders. Much of this ambiance and almost ‘epic’ tone would continue on in the project’s debut full-length ‘Geist ist Teufel’ as drummer VRDRBR aka Nachtraaf aka Jim Doktor helped round out the songwriting and integration of instrumentation beyond keyboards/synth. The early years of Urfaust are perhaps among the most mind-bending releases in atmospheric black metal to date with shrieking far more outrageous than Bethelhem and atmospherics on par with mid 90’s Apruptum and Isengard‘s ‘Høstmørke’. But no comparison could effectively prepare any listener for the folk metal inspired instrumentation and frankly quite insane operatic ranting vocal style. Fourteen years later Urfaust are still completely in their own league despite having moved on from the hysterics of their earliest material.
What initially drew me into the depths of Urfaust‘s discography was actually the 2012 compilation ‘Ritual Music for the True Clochard’ and specifically the remastered tracks from their second album ‘Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist’. It is worth noting that the band is from the Netherlands and the choice to use misspelled or poorly translated German for songtitles has always been an odd choice that wouldn’t phase out until 2010. I feel like if you know nothing about Urfaust‘s first era ‘Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist’ might be a scratched-out, challenging listen but in terms of atmospheric black metal that is unique and perhaps entirely non-derivative it is an essential release. If the sound is a mess the compilation I mentioned will do just as well to prime you as to why the underground was abuzz with Urfaust for several years before they gained larger cult status. The remastered version of ‘Verflucht Das Blenden Der Erscheinung’ always blows my mind, and must be heard.
The apex of this original trilogy of full-lengths was, for most, ‘Der freiwillige Bettler’ and saw the band finding a secure home on Ván Records. It is the most refined release in their early style that still features those operatic vocal performances, which I like to think of as ‘Hammerheart’ era Quorthon singing for Candlemass with intermittent howling seizures. Greater layers of guitar work helped create depth in Urfaust‘s sound but some of the echoing, lo-fi mystique was lost in favor of something thick and murky. In the long wait for another full-length it seemed as if the band were finding a new sound for themselves and when ‘Apparitions’ cropped up in 2015 as a spontaneously recorded EP. It was an almost funereal sounding record with a mix of darker ambient works not unlike early Urfaust but clearly a decade detached. This appears to have served as inspiration going forward in an attempt to fuse the ambiance that IX excels at with atmospheric black metal and some greater influence of epic doom metal.
‘Empty Space Meditation’ is perhaps the prettiest record I own on vinyl, inside and out, as Urfaust‘s relationship with Thorny Thoughts Artwork produced one of my personal favorite examples of black metal album art. The music itself was quite underrated at the time for whatever reason as the extended introduction and floaty synth/keyboard work demanded mindfulness. I think few things are as comical in the world of metal writing as a young man plainly reviewing an album with “meditation” in the title and feeling jilted that is spaced-out and laid back. The wondrous think about ‘Empty Space Meditation’ was it’s retention of the band’s signature personality whilst escaping some of the more exuberant insanity of the vocal performances. IX’s performances were no less grand, but perhaps fittingly set upon the ‘epic’ doom metal/atmospheric black metal mood of the record. ‘The Constellatory Practice’ proverbially plucks Urfaust‘s sound out from the stars and lands back on earth in some state of enlightenment.
If the sleepy, space-faring atmospheric black metal of ‘Empty Space Meditation’ left you anxious then I doubt the amplified, luxurious production and doom metal beats of ‘The Constellatory Practice’ will disappoint. I don’t think IX‘s vocals have ever sounded so confident or generally active on an Urfaust release as on the opener “Doctrine of Spirit Obsession”. What should be obvious upon first listen is that in a quest for a mixture of atmospheric black metal, epic doom metal and ambient music Urfaust have created some of thier best work by edging almost entirely away from the recognizable structures of black metal. “False Sensorial Impressions” provides just that, sensorial trickery that lures the ear in with the impression of screeching lo-fi black metal, like a distantly crackling Ildjarn record in a giant echoing hallway. In some ways this sort of approach again harks back to the experimental affect of Arckanum and Abruptum‘s sorely underappreciated “In Umbra Malitiae Ambulabo, in Aeternum in Triumpho Tenebrarum” briefly.
“Trail of the Conscience of the Dead” is the centerpiece of the album for me, or at least the main standout that offers a clear epic doom metal composition. It is somberly delivered with a grand and roaring guitar tone and IX‘s triumphant voicing driving home one of Urfaust strongest tracks. Layers of trailing strings and ringing guitar leads almost begin to evoke the similarly produced recent works of The Ruins of Beverast but fully escape the funeral doom pacing. In light of this great hot spot of quality and ultimate expression of epic doom the space ambiance and nods to the earlier work of the band create what I think is a certain new high point in the band’s career in development and measured growth since roughly 2011.
I found that I had to listen to ‘The Constellatory Practice’ quite loudly to hear every detail across repeated listens. The space and tribal ambient works might have trailed on for about 4-5 minutes too long but in the moment none of it felt like a pointless lull between bigger statements. Of course I could have used one more big, un-obscured epic or actual atmospheric black metal track instead of “False Sensorial Impressions” but I don’t think it mars the quality of the experience. It will take some patience and likely a quiet, funeral doom-like mood to soak up ‘The Constellatory Practice’ often, but I would count this as one of the better releases in the first half of the year.
Attribution: https://grizzlybutts.com/2018/05/15/urfaust-the-constellatory-practice-2018-review/
