Unholy fuckin' shit. I'm in shock! First time I hear URFAUST and, yes, the shock is big 'cause they play good Black Metal. And this during an era where really nice bands are very few and I'm not talking only about the 'mainstream' scene but mostly for the underground scene currendly inundated with shit.
So, URFAUST are hailing from The Netherlands and it's been six years since they formed. Including a lineup of two persons - both of them being or having been in other projects and bands (I'm not 100% sure but they've played or are still playing with THE DEVIL'S BLOOD). Till now they have unleashed two full-length CDs, some split releases and two EPs. This one is their second, released in July via Van Records (the permanent label they have during the last years).
With these two songs URFAUST is entering deep inside the listener's soul and creates landscapes of desolation and solitude. The first bands that are coming to mind regarding these kind of feelings are mostly BURZUM and ILDJARN and this is a great achievement for these Dutch blacksters.
The first cut, entitled IX: Der Einsiedler, lasts for 12 minutes and starts with a monotonous keyboard sound. The song develops with the guitars' entrance and the desperate vocals creating a unique atmosphere. In the end we have an expanding piece; somewhere there is a HAWKWIND chariot coming and this could be described as an astral journey musical depiction.
The desolation and the nihilistic approach of the band is also more than present in Verderber, with some vocals like you are hearing wolves in a distant mountain forest. The band, in a very simple way, manages and catches the essence of a Black Metal record. Without being ape-like, without being 'posers', they have their personality and underground aesthetics without stupid and hypocritical images. Dark, strange and bizarre, it raids inside like a crawling plaque. A release for few people and at last some vocals that know how to reflect emotions.