Faunus
“Where Everything Begins with an End”
2015
The world of atmospheric music is personally one of the most challenging of genres to tackle. To create an atmosphere is to focus on the greater sonic ‘picture’ that the album is providing. Faunus attempts to project this in his four track debut. For a one man band, it must have proved a daunting task which I can respect. And atmospheric black metal album, it’s layered with screeches (somebody likes Xasthur, eh?), reverbs and practically ticks all the boxes in the proverbial list. The album contains a rich selection of melodies, from haunting slow beats to the extreme dissonances in other places.
Using the four tracks to cover the four seasons, I have to admit that the first two somewhat manage while the last two struggle to create an emotion with either the track’s season or the subsequent subtitle. For long instances there is not much going on in the album and then blast beats kick in causing a bizarre anti-climax. As I mentioned, an atmospheric album must be about the greater picture which it fills which unfortunately is filled with too many gaps and little details which does not make too much a pleasant listen, although I was still willing to give the next track a chance so there’s that. I give thumbs up where the bass is used for the melody as that is always a bold attempt to do.
The production is thin and cold, as goes with the genre. The drums have a slight annoying pierce to them. Still the sound is full, if focused towards the higher side of the spectrum. Overall, it sounds satisfactory.
The album cover is…lazy. It is a picture of a misty forest (no surprise there) but making a mirror image out of it? That’s it? Nope, no sugar coating here, I would stream it but I won’t but it off the shelf just by looking at it.
To be honest, I’m really jaded at black metal and the atmospheric/ambient ones even more so. The dry sound is old and lack audible satisfaction in the long run. So despite what I wrote, I still recommend it for who likes atmospheric black metal. What I really like about this release it what it represents, and that’s diversity, it really has a bit of everything and that shows the malleability of the genre. It has its moments, but four tracks of ten minutes each cannot hold water by its moments. So yeah, give it a listen but I won’t blame you if you stop at the first track.
Tracklist:
1. Autumn – Death
2. Winter – Gestation
3. Spring – Birth
4. Summer – Maturation
https://www.facebook.com/faunusband
Members:
Admetos – Everything
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
~Carnivean