Album Type: Full
Length
Date
Released: 1/2/2016Label: Fortriu Productions |
Neuropa Records
Taken purely at face value, this album sounds like nothing out of
the ordinary, and yet because the music is so evocative, particularly of the
scenery its album cover paints, it excels in a way that even the most lauded
acts in the subgenre can’t compete with.
When you listen to ‘I’, it digs something out of your mind and projects
it front and center for you to reflect upon. It paints the picture it means to,
and it does so vividly. This album proves that if you’re tired of this sound,
it’s because the bands you’re listening to are tired, rather than the sound
itself.
‘I’ CD//DD
track listing:
1.
In the Halls of the Hunter
2.
Blood
3.
The Oracle
4.
Spirit of the North
Fuath is:
Andy
Marshall | Everything
The Review:
I
think it’s fair to say that the bloom is off the rose somewhat, when it comes
to atmospheric black metal and its various sub-sub-subgenres. It feels like
there is an avalanche of it every year, and the novelty’s completely worn away
from it by now. It got to a point where it started to feel like everyone on
earth who could string some minor chords together and throw some reverb-soaked
leads over the top of them were all making the same album all at once and then
releasing them under different names.
But
what does any of that have to do with Andy Marshall (also of Saor) and his
latest project Fuath? I bring all of that up because it’s important
to note that ‘I’ is an absolute joy
to listen to in spite of the
conditions in which it’s released. Over the last year or so, I’d come to
understand that the style was simply overdone, to the point of tedium and that
no good could come of it regardless of who was putting out the music. This album
proves that it can still be done in a way that captures your imagination and
avoids the trappings of “this is just (blank) mixed with (blank)”.
Where
Fuath
outshines the vast majority of its contemporaries, is in the quality of its
songwriting. The musical components are what you’d expect. Reverb-drenched
guitars, drums that have a lot of room to them, and cavernous reverb on the
vocals, which are kept low in the mix. Taken purely at face value, this album
sounds like nothing out of the ordinary, and yet because the music is so
evocative, particularly of the scenery its album cover paints, it excels in a
way that even the most lauded acts in the subgenre can’t compete with.
In
looking for an example to focus on, that is illustrative of the whole of the album,
I’d point to the opening moments of “Blood”.
The song is anchored by a pretty basic 4/4 rock beat at first, allowing the
swelling guitars to take the focus without getting in the way. The drums often
serve as a solid backbone, rather than being busy for the sake of proving it
can be done. Meanwhile, the color and spirit of the album comes from the
guitars, which are thickly layered and bursting with forlorn melody. And while
a lot of the album revolves around a similar feeling, each song feels like it
creates its own unique shade of that same feeling.
While
I’m not someone who puts a lot of stock in the authenticity of things, at least
not as far as being more important than the finished product itself, there’s
nothing about ‘I’ that ever feels
“put on” or phony. Whether this album was crafted in a cabin, twenty miles from
the nearest living soul or put together in a crowded city with hundreds of
people jammed into each block; it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that
when you listen to ‘I’, it digs something
out of your mind and projects it front and center for you to reflect upon. It
paints the picture it means to, and it does so vividly. This album proves that
if you’re tired of this sound, it’s because the bands you’re listening to are
tired, rather than the sound itself.
