Faruln : “The Black Hole Of The Soul” CD & MLP 15th March 2019 Battlesk’rs Productions.

Faruln : “The Black Hole Of The Soul” CD & MLP 15th March 2019 Battlesk’rs Productions. Swedish Black Metal band. CD 6 Panel-Digisleeve, MLP 10″ with printed innerbag limited to 300 copies. Distributed by Necrocosm, Season of Mist & Cargo Records (UK)

Reviewed by Kelly Tee  

The Swedish know how to Black Metal and Faruln is no exception to this rule, as proven in the 2019, EP release “The Black Hole Of the Soul”.

I hadn’t heard of this solo project until now, and I’m wondering how it is I missed the first two demos released from 2015, to 2017. Nevertheless, I have discovered Btsm (the mastermind behind this excellent EP) now and thank Satan for that!

The EP’s title track is a great lead into the four-track journey with “The Black Hole Of The Soul” delivering in your face aggression with imposing yet somewhat faded vocals by Btsm of the most savage and guttural kind.  A very addictive listen, full of deadly double drum kicks and dirty thick riffs. Immediately this track gave me promise that this EP will not disappoint.

Heading into track 2, “Recreator Of The Great Silence”; the melody takes over within the guitar work here to a backdrop of heavy blast beats, making this a “heart race fast” listen. This is a track which is unrelenting and punishing with the vocals being the main star to be thanked for this. The tempo slows down to a groove metal pace, yet is ladled with a darkness one would expect within this sub-genre. The aura created within this song is that of rituals and summoning as a dull hymn takes place in the background, helping to set an unsettling atmosphere.  I felt a special kind of gloom within this number and hit repeat on its completion.

Track 3 “The Sworn Number” is a much slower burn than the two great tracks before it, however this does not discredit its quality music composition by any means.  The huge daunting vocals, which feel doom like within this profane number create the heaviness here and bring this song to a great level of dejection.  All light from this track is removed as this track breaks in and out of different tempo to its completion. A great listen.

“Dissolution” is the final track, and a great way to close this malevolent and melancholic EP.  There is no escape from the deep desperation of this vicious finale. This track, I’m sure was created to bestow the suffering onto the listener and I felt every inch of it.  A track that is fuelled with exquisite ominous melody and peppered with incredible intensity, it is a number that demands attention from the onset right to the end.

While The Black Hole Of The Soul EP may not be among some of the chaotic and heaviest black metal being delivered in 2019, it is certainly up there with some of the most creative, solid and forceful, with an evil darkness that has shaped this EP into a big moody and ambient listen of the most extreme sense.

Kelly Tee

Solstice Promotion