Rendered catatonic, disillusioned on a physical level from a lack of purpose amidst the automata minds milling in spiraling ouroboric stages of distress abounding, our protagonist can be found dropping out of the race after time spent caught dueling states of deluded meaning and comfortable despair. Expressing various stages of tortured, blissful and wrath-driven muse Gotha, Germany-borne avant-garde black metal quintet Farsot aim for density of experience on this fourth full-length album, approaching their long developed sound with palpably harshened intent but not fully frayed results as their dementia ridden verve waxes and wanes. Taking stock of their last twenty-five years as an entity without being contained by it, ‘Life Promised Death‘ appears to delight in the nihilistic distention of the self per an inspired hand for askew and surreal diversions along the way.

Farsot formed circa 1999 and we can do a bit of a quick fast-forward motion beyond their earliest stages, most of which accumulated skills you’ll appreciate if you’ve some interest in depressive black metal, dark metal and a reasonable version of each in combination. It wasn’t until their second demo (‘042103Freitod‘, 2004) and debut full-length (‘IIII‘, 2007) that we begin to recognize their initial signifiers as sometimes tuneful, occasionally raw and generally listless recordings which hadn’t yet arrived upon the basic foundation for Farsot‘s avant-garde ventures beyond that point. I’d found the vocals on that first LP curiously desperate if not performative but nothing as tuneful as say, Lifelover, or whatnot around that time. The spectrum explored by the band that’d carry on ’til today in some form arrived more officially with their sophomore album (‘Insects‘, 2011) where noisome production highlighted a far more scatterbrained presence, chaotic in its intent but focused on scenic tension and heavier groove. I’d particularly liked the strong bass guitar tone and a guitar forward sound of that album when it released but it didn’t necessary knock the Hail Spirit Noir and Virus records out of my hand with its rhythms at the time, as such I’d never followed up on the band beyond that point. The expansion of this sound further down the spiral with ‘Fail·Lure‘ (2017), an accomplished record which’d set their name beside groups like Agrypnie, Nocte Obducta and earlier Secrets of the Moon due to their raw expression, complex layering of sounds, and surreal atmosphere set somewhere in the outskirts of accessible by avant-garde German black metal.

As far as I know ‘Life Promised Death‘ is the third time Farsot has worked with prolific Woodshed Studio figurehead V. Santura aka Victor Bullok for the engineering, production and rendering for one of their albums and this provides a familiar enough warmth and spacious distance per the fellowe’s modern dark metal production values while also managing a less rawly loud vision beyond the previous LP. This manages to aid the surprisingly tuneful but still ‘off’ edge of the albums moment to moment action as opener “Nausea” expresses the symptoms of existential dread amidst its ‘Below the Lights‘-era Enslaved type easy-drifting walk, I particularly enjoyed the intrigue presented by the progression of the lyrics in this piece and its nearby companion “Buoyant Flames” as they introduce their subject as illness, symptom and suspect phenomenon while each song maintains sweeping pace, particularly the latter as the finesse of the rhythm section glues their movement together. I’d initially felt tags like progressive or post-black metal should apply here but these are observations based on a general sense of modernity thanks to the aforementioned hi-fi production values.

For all of the curiosity of vision that those opening pieces stoke it is “Into Vertigo” which finally crosses the line into progressive metal territory beyond the usual escalator shaped downpour thanks to clean vocals that might’ve been considered a nod to early 90’s psychedelic/indie rock if they weren’t attached to rasping growls, the waterfall of distortion pushed along the by the guitars, and stamping pace of the song otherwise. This thoughtful, gentler mode suits the band’s demeanor and carries through early album peak “Chimera”, essentially merging the two pieces and providing an ‘unplugged’ moment or two along the way. I’m not sure if these smaller tics applied to their work are meant to align with the suggested grunge/alternative rock inspiration found on this record but this seems most plausible considering. I’d otherwise found shades of post-industrial and early industrial rock in some of their choices of rhythm and vocal expression within the final third of the album, starting with the surprisingly resonant “Stray Dogs”.

It blows me away… into the void… — After a few songs spent weirding out we get what I’d consider one of the more masterful, swagger-ridden pieces on the full listen with “Descent” a jog down a dread-pressed tunnel ahead at racing speed with a few gothic rock addled spoken verses tossed in alongside. Warmed by basslines which taunt the path forward along this nigh danceable sway downward this would be a key piece in convincing me I’d do well to take a closer look/listen to what Farsot were presenting here. The equally long and tormented finale of “Lost Momentum” continues to hold us in the purgatorial grip of ‘Life Promised Death‘ a long and winding road after ~51 minutes and without managing to feel excessive, a testament to the immersion available to repeated full listens.

Within a cursory listen this album manages little more than a blur of slithering estrangement, within a ~four hour repeat listening session it manages to all coalesce as a dreary, sometimes hallucinatory experience of overstimulation and disillusionment. From the first listen to the tenth I’d gone from being unsure there was any substance to ‘Life Promised Death‘ to enjoying it more with each listen and moreso for the distance it explores beyond the typical moderne black metal sentiment, leaning into their own unique set of inward-seeking influences rather than the usual classicism. Though I’m not sure they’ve managed an outright accessible release here the depths of their exploration did ultimately amount to an entertaining and repeatable record doubly refined beyond their last. A moderately high recommendation.

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