Formed in 2003, FÄULNIS is a German Black Metal band with a highly distinctive sound incorporating a heavily Punk oriented style, with "Snuff || Hiroshima" marking the band's third full-length album. Having been five years between albums, saying that "Snuff || Hiroshima" was much anticipated by their fans is an understatement. This new release follows in the footsteps of FÄULNIS's second album, "Gehirn zwischen Wahn und Sinn", albeit with a cleaner and less Punk-driven sound. However, the underlying sense of torment and social isolation remain present. Flawlessly combining a very Punk-like vocal style with guitar sounds more commonly found in Black Metal, FÄULNIS  manage to draw on various influences and yet still present a beautifully sepulchre coherent album.

With heavy Doom-like melodies, the first track "Grauen" does superbly in bring emotions of disappointment and depression to life. This despair is a recurrent theme throughout the album, occasionally climbing to new heights in various parts of the album, such as in the latter portion of "In Ohnmacht". Perhaps my favourite track on "Snuff || Hiroshima" is the penultimate song, "Atomkinder und Vogelmenschen". This track contains everything from more melancholic and despondent melodies to faster-paced embodiments of anger and hate, launching into searing riffs of the darkest Black Metal personifying absolute bleakness and desolation. The entire album is one blistering track after another, and elicits feelings of misanthropy and despair for the human condition throughout. "Snuff || Hiroshima" really digs up the dirtiest dregs of humanity and shines a harsh light on them, putting on display society's ugliness for the entire world to see.

Overall, this is an album that you will either love or hate. If the frostbitten sounds of Norwegian Black Metal is what sets your heart alight, then FÄULNIS probably isn't for you. But if a hard-hitting, haunting Blackened Punk album is what you're after, look no further; "Snuff || Hiroshima" is exactly what you crave. I for one can't wait to see them on their upcoming tour!