Finsterforst: Wiege der Finsternis (2006)

In recent years, the most interesting corner of the nebulous metal scene has been the explosion of bands incorporating traditional folk music. This largely started in Scandinavia as a pagan offshoot of 1990s black metal, which encouraged a return to pre-Christian ideals through romantic notions of atavism and nationalism. The movement gained momentum in former Eastern Bloc countries, where native cultures had been suppressed under Communist rule, and quickly spread throughout Europe as the threat of homogenization loomed under the banner of modernity and globalization. At its ugliest, ethnically-focused metal can be a vehicle for kneejerk xenophobia and esoteric racism, and at its most trivial, it can simply be an excuse to get drunk and wax nostalgic for an era in which its adherents would ultimately find life exceedingly difficult or boring. Finsterforst, from southwestern Germany, fall into neither of those categories. Their tunes lean toward the most accessible end of black metal, with both keyboards and a real accordion pumping up their beerhall guitar melodies and raspy native-tongue vocals. Their out-of-print, self-released debut EP, Wiege der Finsternis (“Cradle of Darkness”), is a great place to start in both Finsterforst’s catalog and the subgenre itself. At 26 minutes, it contains only three tracks, each long enough to weave pastoral interludes among its high-energy material. These guys provide jaunty fun as well as an idealized, brooding old-world flavor, appropriately conjuring the Black Forest that both shadowed their upbringing and provided their band’s name. As one of the most engaging, ready-for-prime-time acts in Germany’s thriving folk metal scene, here’s hoping their upcoming second album, …Zum Tode Hin, catapults Finsterforst to the same level of fame enjoyed by the genre’s (generally Finnish) superstars.

“Schatten der Nacht” (at Skullcrusher, Dresden, 12/22/08)

SCRAMBLE YOUR FACE