Missed Album Review: Finsterforst – Jenseits

Style: Progressive Metal, Folk Metal, Symphonic Metal, Black Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Enslaved, Moonsorrow, Borknagar, Wilderun
Review by: Christopher
Country: Germany
Release date: 8 September, 2023

Early in life I was exposed to classical pieces like Rossini’s “William Tell Overture”, Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 (“From the New World”), and Holst’s The Planets, and ever since I entered the world of progressive metal, I’ve gravitated towards the bands that capture a similar sense of the symphonic sublime. Hailing from Germany and singing in their native tongue, Finsterforst have been a force in symphonic blackened folk metal since 2004. Jenseits is one enormous track divided into a four part suite running to forty minutes (Finsterforst are classing this as an EP despite its length, but when you consider their albums usually exceed seventy minutes you can see the logic). 

Finsterforst’s sound is mountainous; when Oliver Berlin opens “Kapitel I – Freiheit” a cappella with his resonant, gravelly baritone, his bandmates joining in for that enormous choir work, you soon realise that this is a level of grandeur beyond. When the full band kicks in and the rapturous brass accompaniment hits your ears, one can’t help but imagine a viking longboat amid turbid seas, the spume bubbling away as it sprays the determined crew rowing stoically to some distant Valhalla. When the glistening accordion rips through with its lyrical melody and the enormous chorus extolling the virtues of a mythic Utopia resounds, you start to understand that the now overused term “epic” was created entirely to describe Finsterforst.

Jenseits sees Finsterforst perfect the balance of the various elements that define their sound—their particular take on folky black metal clearly influenced by Moonsorrow—the high production quality and care of the mix recall groups like Enslaved, of course, as well as Slavic groups like Negură Bunget whose more naturalistic style of folk metal can also be heard throughout Finsterforst’s work; particularly in the opening of “Kapitel III – Reflexionen” where flute and acoustic guitar cavort with subtle strings in the background, to accompany a more restrained Berlin who sings with a certain sombreness. With each release, the core black metal influence has become more fully integrated into the symphonic and folk sensibilities to create a unique sound. 

Each member is vital, from the varied stomp and pulsation of Cornelius Heck’s drumming to Simon Schillinger and David Schuldis’ enormous guitar tone which should be the envy of axemen and plank spankers everywhere, frequently putting me in mind of David Gilmour’s juggernaut sound on “Sorrow” (which Gilmour achieved by recording on a sound system in a sports arena for that truly massive natural echo). Tobias Weinreich’s bass is clearer than ever here, laying down some very groovy bass, particularly on “Kapitel II – Dualität” where he really gets to shine. Sebastian Sherrer’s keyboard work is a vital source of nuance and intricacy, contributing gorgeous atmospheres and subtle synth additions.

Meanwhile Finsterforst’s compositional skies are occasionally flown by flute and duduk (you know those flutes that are, like, double flutes?), as well as the aforementioned accordion solos. I’ve already rhapsodised about Berlin’s cleans once but I’d remiss not to mention some of his best moments such as the elegiac belting at 4:42 in “Kapitel II – Dualität”, and the enormous vocal climax on “Kapitel IV – Katharsis” from 10:51 to the song’s close. His harshes are extraordinarily versatile, too, from gnashing blackened screams, to gruffer growls, and the consistent contribution of his bandmates, their frequent harmonising and defiant “HEY’s” never seeming tacky, rather conferring a sense of a united collective. 

There are few issues, but I think “Kapitel I – Freiheit” is the clear standout within the suite, the other parts a little paler by comparison particularly “Kapitel IV – Katharsis” which, despite closing with a gorgeous reprise of the suite’s a cappella intro (this time with band accompaniment), feels somewhat unwieldy otherwise; sixteen minutes is long for any song—ironic when it’s the final segment of a forty minute suite—and the track climaxes a few times, to the point that the band seem a little lost by the midsection. Finsterforst are no strangers to mammoth runtimes—their previous album Zerfall ended with the thirty-six minute epic “Ecce Homo” while “Flammenrausch” from Rastlos ran for a relatively brisk twenty-two minutes—but I do think their best work is to be found in the shorter self-contained tracks, such as “Wut”, “Fluch des Seins” or, as mentioned, “Kapitel I – Freiheit” if taken as a lone track. 

There aren’t many bands who can sound as evocatively enormous, as imbued with the awe and inherent drama of nature, as Finsterforst and they sound as good as ever on Jenseits. While they can be victims of their own epicness and the record teeters a little precariously in its latter stretches, the portent and Homeric hugeness nevertheless add up to one of the best and most grandiose things you’ll hear in 2023. 

Recommended tracks: It’s technically one enormous track, but I guess you could just do Kapitel I – Freiheit by itself (but you should really do the whole “EP”) 
You may also like: Dordeduh, Negură Bunget, Vanaheim
Final verdict: 8.5/10

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Label: AOP Records – Bandcamp | Facebook

Finsterforst is:
– Oliver Berlin (lead vocals)
– Cornelius Heck (drums, backing vocals)
– Sebastian Scherrer (keyboards, backing vocals)
– Simon Schillinger (guitars, keyboards, orchestrations, programming, backing vocals)
– David Schuldis (guitars, backing vocals)
– Tobias Weinreich (bass)