The tense and perspective of the poetic naturalist in intimate confide with the awe of nature now appears stoked afire, a burning body sent turning toward the illness that is civilization to express contempt for illusory conflicts and wanton antagonism as Copenhagen, Denmark-based black metal project AFSKY chooses to push aback on this inspired fourth full-length album. While we could accuse the band of melancholia and triumphal airs in the past here on ‘Fællesskab‘ their words are bitingly sardonic where it counts, though they are in Danish and should float past those who’re otherwise likely here for the next-stage evolution of their increasingly melodious riff-hand. In fact this work should be considered their most nuanced and inspired beyond their debut for the sake of its addition to a body of rhythmic fixation rather than duly simplifying it for the masses.

Before forming Afsky in 2015 musician Ole Pedersen Luk (see also: Heltekvad) was previously best known for fronting black metal troupe Solbrud since the late 2000’s, bringing that knowledge to a far more modestly arranged but still emotionally driven solo project. The initial directive was fairly straightforward atmospheric black metal largely voiced by coldly fluttering tremolo picked guitar arrange and… it’d been typical stuff. I recall hitting the first song on their self-titled debut EP (‘Afsky‘, 2015) and finding the rock solo at the center of that piece cheesy as a first impression nearby a depressive black metal tone. Their debut LP (‘Sorg‘, 2018) notably developed believable miseria in its unearthly shuffling and blasted-at interruptus, I enjoyed the raw edges of that record quite a bit and it remains my overall preference. Folk-lite elements and a heavier shade of gloom made that first record notable but the project is probably best known for their second LP (‘Ofte jeg drømmer mig død‘, 2021) at this point where ear-scraping sound design, an odd drum sound and a bit less ‘Autumn Aurora‘ in their lilt took me out of it. I didn’t find myself forming any sort of strong opinion of their discography beyond that point.

Much as I’d appreciated the consistency of Afsky‘s fairly similar second and third full-lengths I am not so sure the oaken ferality and depressive gravitas of the first album had been replicated to equally endearing result yet I’ve found ‘Fællesskab‘ almost immediately ear-catching from the first listen. Some of that might be attributable to production values or a few louder breaks into variety along the way but I’d generally suggest that the guitar work on this album finds an entertaining pocket and develops an intoxicating atmospheric whorl within. The hanging dreariness and anthemic shuffling of opener “Velkommen til livet” speaks to this range outright while “Den der ingenting ved tvivler aldrig” afterward outlines the guitarist’s shaping in thicker point. I’d particularly appreciated the howling break into faster paced Franco-melodious rush ~2 minutes into the piece as an example of the tautness of these performances finding at least some incendiary pulsation beyond a distraught gallop.

While I wouldn’t speak to these songs as wildly complex challengers or unheard of feats of atmospheric black metal expanse they are decidedly not the post-metal inspired type of arrange which yields random generated floats of vaguely interrelated ideas and instead seems to take melodic black metal old-and-new as some extra girding for compositional form. In this sense I do not hear more than the aesthetic/tonal remnants of Cascadian post-black ideation as partial muscle memory. This is most readily noticeable on “Natmaskinen” with its florid, folken opening traipse and its humming rise-and-fall and rise again shape. Though I’d appreciated the signature headspace of Avsky applied to Side A I’d generally found things took a more interesting turn within the swaying threads of “Arveskam” but it is a shame that the piece drops the thought two-thirds of the way in and spends the next two minutes jangling out.

Apart from a few wild melodic black rungs achieved on the dramatically strewn “Flaggelanternes sang” and the wall of windblown riff that introduces “Svanesang” I didn’t find Side B offered anything more distilled or primally connective compared to the first half, only just kept the thread going ’til it was time for a heavier flowing arc out. With repeated listening I’d found the overarching tone of Afsky‘s latest album was familiar but entertaining in its passage between fading melancholic seethe and almost joyful anthemic points though there were few truly tuneful or standout moments felt beyond those first few pieces. This didn’t deter my interest for the first dozen or so spins but all began to wane as I’d found neither hook nor depth that might persist in mind. A moderately high recommendation.

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