Review Summary: Under starry nights, in raging winds of frost.
In interviews leading up to the release of Fuath’s debut full length
I, Andy Marshall, the Scottish black metal mastermind behind the newly sprung project (along with the widely acclaimed Saor and rather less well received Falloch) said that his chief intent was to channel the early 90s black metal scene that initially inspired him. A “cold, hypnotic, and melancholic” atmosphere in the vein of Burzum’s
Hvis Lyset Tar Oss or more recent acts like Paysage d'Hiver was the goal here. And that goal is pretty clear when you finally listen to
I. It feels like his open letter to the bands that pushed him into this musical style, with sprinklings and hints from various sources to be found across its runtime. But it doesn’t get too bent over channeling these sounds. Marshall doesn’t quite capture the atmosphere or background ambience of Burzum, or the frozen wall of sound of Paysage, not to the furthest measure at least.
I is its own beast in several ways and the better for it.
Each of the four tracks on
I clocks in neatly around ten minutes and neither do they differ too greatly from each other. There aren’t a great many surprises to be found in the dense waves of cold tremolos and starry melodies that comprise these songs, but they’re all frighteningly captivating in spite of it. It becomes a game when sifting through the songs of choosing which hypnotically repeated melody you want to hear at that given moment. Even still, the album doesn’t really overstay its welcome. Forty minutes is practically an achievement in concise runtimes considering the propensity in black metal to drag out records.
I’s key strength is its hypnoticism. In a similar manner to Paysage d'Hiver, it doesn’t feel like it’s meant to be listened to too closely. While Paysage worked that way simply because of the sheer lo fi wall of sound preventing you from actually doing so, the constant simplicity and emphasis on atmosphere infer that for Fuath.
I is a record you throw on to get lost in its atmosphere and not the second to second changes of a song.
Curiously, this is the first album Marshall has done entirely on his own since Saor’s debut under a different name,
Roots. Falloch was the product of a partnership with fellow Scotsman Scot McLean and Saor’s defining record,
Aura, was done with the aid of multiple musicians including legendary Panopticon mastermind Austin Lunn. His drum performance doesn’t come close to rivaling the exemplary work Lunn provided, but for Fuath’s purposes Marshall does just fine. His vocals are also a marked contrast from the Scottish battle roars present on Saor. Marshall sticks to a traditional black metal rasp which unfortunately doesn’t have the same charm. However, just like with Saor, his vocals serve as more of a background instrument which evens the disparity somewhat.
Fuath ends up being a middle ground between Marshall’s will to channel his influences and being able to stand on its own two legs. He doesn’t quite hit the heights of his predecessors no matter how much he tries, and his trademark touch to melody slips in enough that after a couple of listens you can really hear the Andy Marshal-ness of it all. It’s not as engaging on a song to song basis, but the atmosphere is dead on. In essence,
I isn’t exactly the home run that
Aura was, but it’s a respectable hit nonetheless.
