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| #FOR FANS OF: Black Old School |
A devotion to the seminal sound of each genre has been something quite common in the metal scene, and something perfectly understandable. They were those first bands that let us a profound impression and made us love a certain style of music. Black metal is not an exception as we see many projects that try to reflect the majesty of those mighty projects appeared in the '90s and even in the second half of the '80s. Personally, I enjoy those bands that push the boundaries, as every genre needs fresh sounds, because without them the process of stagnation and mediocrity would be unstoppable. On the other hands, I also appreciate and find exciting to discover new projects, capable of bringing back those old sounds with quality, and if possible, to bring their own personality. The German solo project Furis Ignis seems to be one of them. The project was born in 2019 and after three years of existence and no previous known stuff, Furis Ignis has signed a deal with the always reliable label Iron Bonehead Productions to present its first opus entitled ‘Decapitate the Aging World’.
'Decapitate the Aging World' is undoubtedly a remarkable debut, consisting of six tracks, having each one of them its own personally and specific characteristics. In any case, the whole album and its songs are strictly tied to black metal’s foundations and classical aspects as they make me remember all the classic bands of the '90s. Through its 39 minutes, you will taste some chaotic riffs, melodic tunes and captivating atmospheric touches that show why black metal is such an especial sub-genre. Production wise, the album has an expected raw production, with a clearly old school touch, especially in the guitars that have a rough and sharp sound. Apart from that, the balance is quite good, as vocals, guitars and drums are perfectly distinguishable and have an equal presence, which is a basic aspect to fully enjoy the band’s music. Another interesting fact of this album is the length of the songs, quite unbalanced, as two tracks last half of the album’s time, while the other four tracks are around two to five minutes. As you can imagine, the longer tracks have a greater room to appreciate Furis Ignis different influences. Anyway, the guitars are excellent regardless of the song as they sound quite elaborated, taking into account that this music is not technical or so complex, because the riffing is excellent both when the riffs are ferocious or more melodic. "Witness the Nightsky Palpitating to the Beat of Premonition" is the excellent album opener that summarizes all the good aspects of this powerful debut. Rasping vocals combined with an impressive guitar work, whose pace and intensity fluctuates between pure rawness and speed to a slower tempo with some interesting atmospheric touches. The surprisingly audible bass increases the feeling of listening to something truly loyal to the old times. The ambient arrangements remind me Burzum’s most hypnotic moments, which is something truly especial. This song is like you would discover a bastard descendant of Burzum, Mayhem and Darkthrone, which I guess it’s the wet dream of any classic black metal fan. "Guarding the Gate" is the longest piece of this album and again the longer duration gives us the chance of enjoying every single aspect of Furis Ignis full potential. Again, the riffing is memorable and as the song progresses, we can appreciate the amount of work done to build a long, yet irremediably interesting, piece of music. The initial and powerful beginning combines the impressive riffs, fast paced drums and some tiny and great atmospheric touches that make this part equally hypnotic, yet apt for a nice headbanging. The middle part focuses on what is maybe the rawest section of this album. It combines pure furious parts with some really crushing and raw riffs, until a more melodic essence progressively appears and its shares the prominence with the rawer riffs in a very inspired way, showing that brutality and melody can successfully coexist. The album closer "Donner In Den Bergen" is another interesting track as it has its own personality. It’s the slowest song as it has a more depressive and “doomy” touch. Its sombre nature makes this track a good ending for this powerful album as it is a sonic portrait of a devastated scenery.
At the end 'Decapitate the Aging World' is arguably one of the most interesting debuts in a long time, when we speak about old school black metal. The album is a compendium of what we love from this genre as it has been composed and executed tastefully. Furis Ignis succeded in creatin an album that has its own personality thanks to the respectable amount of work done. The intensity and variety are something undeniable and make this album a must for every fan of the black metal genre. (Alain González Artola)
'Decapitate the Aging World' is undoubtedly a remarkable debut, consisting of six tracks, having each one of them its own personally and specific characteristics. In any case, the whole album and its songs are strictly tied to black metal’s foundations and classical aspects as they make me remember all the classic bands of the '90s. Through its 39 minutes, you will taste some chaotic riffs, melodic tunes and captivating atmospheric touches that show why black metal is such an especial sub-genre. Production wise, the album has an expected raw production, with a clearly old school touch, especially in the guitars that have a rough and sharp sound. Apart from that, the balance is quite good, as vocals, guitars and drums are perfectly distinguishable and have an equal presence, which is a basic aspect to fully enjoy the band’s music. Another interesting fact of this album is the length of the songs, quite unbalanced, as two tracks last half of the album’s time, while the other four tracks are around two to five minutes. As you can imagine, the longer tracks have a greater room to appreciate Furis Ignis different influences. Anyway, the guitars are excellent regardless of the song as they sound quite elaborated, taking into account that this music is not technical or so complex, because the riffing is excellent both when the riffs are ferocious or more melodic. "Witness the Nightsky Palpitating to the Beat of Premonition" is the excellent album opener that summarizes all the good aspects of this powerful debut. Rasping vocals combined with an impressive guitar work, whose pace and intensity fluctuates between pure rawness and speed to a slower tempo with some interesting atmospheric touches. The surprisingly audible bass increases the feeling of listening to something truly loyal to the old times. The ambient arrangements remind me Burzum’s most hypnotic moments, which is something truly especial. This song is like you would discover a bastard descendant of Burzum, Mayhem and Darkthrone, which I guess it’s the wet dream of any classic black metal fan. "Guarding the Gate" is the longest piece of this album and again the longer duration gives us the chance of enjoying every single aspect of Furis Ignis full potential. Again, the riffing is memorable and as the song progresses, we can appreciate the amount of work done to build a long, yet irremediably interesting, piece of music. The initial and powerful beginning combines the impressive riffs, fast paced drums and some tiny and great atmospheric touches that make this part equally hypnotic, yet apt for a nice headbanging. The middle part focuses on what is maybe the rawest section of this album. It combines pure furious parts with some really crushing and raw riffs, until a more melodic essence progressively appears and its shares the prominence with the rawer riffs in a very inspired way, showing that brutality and melody can successfully coexist. The album closer "Donner In Den Bergen" is another interesting track as it has its own personality. It’s the slowest song as it has a more depressive and “doomy” touch. Its sombre nature makes this track a good ending for this powerful album as it is a sonic portrait of a devastated scenery.
At the end 'Decapitate the Aging World' is arguably one of the most interesting debuts in a long time, when we speak about old school black metal. The album is a compendium of what we love from this genre as it has been composed and executed tastefully. Furis Ignis succeded in creatin an album that has its own personality thanks to the respectable amount of work done. The intensity and variety are something undeniable and make this album a must for every fan of the black metal genre. (Alain González Artola)
(Iron Bonehead Productions - 2022)
Score: 87
https://ironboneheadproductions.bandcamp.com/album/furis-ignis-decapitate-the-aging-world
Score: 87
https://ironboneheadproductions.bandcamp.com/album/furis-ignis-decapitate-the-aging-world