Album Review: Fäust - Death From Beyond
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Here we have what is to be my final album review of 2022: the debut full length release by one-man black metal band, Faust, titled Death From Beyond. Faust are an extremely recently formed band, having only released their first Demo earlier this year. It demonstrates how the man behind the band, Michaël Hellström, is absolutely serious on churning out material that will garner him a following, and amidst the French black metal scene no less either. Being frank, the French black metal scene isn’t one I’m all too familiar with but I’m willing to give most things a go first time round. Slated for a mid-December release, listening to this record on a crisp, frosty morning has never felt so apt. So, here we go, as we venture through what is to be my final review of 2022.
I loved how this album opens up with a slow but swelling surge of power, it doesn’t instantly right where it hurts from get go. Many black metal acts do that but Faust certainly aren’t one of them, preferring to let us stew in the gradually ascending power we soon become fully affiliated with as the record truly kicks off. But even then, as the album gets underway formally, Faust aren’t forever going for the outright, brutal assault that you may expect to find within. Their philosophy of black metal songwriting appears to be garnered around crafting a soundscape that not only pulls you in, but seeks to hold you with riffs and track progression where you can easily sit back and take in everything on display with zero difficulty. I’d describe Faust’s approach as a combination of Dissection’s ambience and songwriting with Abbath and Immortal’s approachability. We clearly understand this is black metal with legitimate thought and effort put into it but it doesn’t feel so guarded by diehard mindsets that everyday metal listens can’t dip their toe into it.
Can I also mention how well produced and realised this album is? Black metal is so often associated with gritty and raw productions that, when a work such as Death From Beyond comes along with a sound as well cared for as this is, it’s honestly striking when black metal feels fully realised in the production department; it showcases the genuine potential this style of metal can harness when certain individuals or bands really put their heads together and, as is sometimes the case, really go against the grain of expected means to craft a blackened record that feels as powerful as the band believe it to be. The riffs, vocals and drums all come through with ecstatic fury and it’s the sublime ease at which their presence and power is exerted to us that gives it the sense of falling deeper and deeper into this record. It’s that ease of access again, Faust feel like a band where all are welcome and, better yet, one could use Death From Beyond, as a potential gateway band into the more visceral and animalistic variants black metal has to offer.
Now I don’t know if it’s the melodic nature of this band, but I very quickly fell in love with the natural flow that Faust seem to operate with. With the end of each riff segment and drum section, with the closure of each vocal utterance, it always feels like the songwriting is preparing to naturally move into the next segment via planned and meticulously thought out procedures, whereby moving through one track, or the progression of one track to another, doesn’t come off with anything unnecessarily jarring or abrupt. Faust are able to render 6 minute tracks with the ease of experiencing something three times shorter than what it may be. Where that melodic tendency is concerned, it isn’t obvious whatsoever. There are very few actual melodic sequences throughout this record, in what would constitute melody in power or death metal, rather Faust appear transfixed on providing melody through that ease of listening and ensuring the experience is as smooth and seamless as the songwriting can make it.
If there is to be any standout instrumental element here, it’s with the drums. Moreover, it’s the astonishing versatility the drums manage to possess as we love through the album. When the songwriting is at its most malevolent and fastest, the drums are always keeping pace with furious blast beats; when the songwriting is steadier, the drums keep us engaged with segments that are much more methodical and structured. Regardless of what the songwriting entails, we always have great drumming to reinforce our immersion. It’s also down to how they’ve been mixed into the record on the whole as well; this could have very easily become a blast beat bonanza but the mind behind Faust knows what he’s after and understands that would not be the way forward with this form of songwriting. The drums are capable at meandering through the icy vocals and sharp riff performances to bring us powerful strikes that feel as strong as they are resonant, and yet they never seize the moment to steal any kind of spotlight. There’s no instrumental conflict occurring; each aspect of the instrumentation has its moment to shine throughout multiple tracks on album here. The drums are able to maintain our attention without needing to roar at our senses.
In conclusion, before any of us make out end of year lists, please ensure you have checked out Faust’s Death From Beyond before committing any kind of album rankings for 2022. I think an awful lot of people will be surprised by what Faust are able to deliver on, even at this midway point in December, for this is an excellently crafted and easily repeatable black metal record that is certain to take a great many by surprise. Not only is this a stunning metal record but, where black metal is concerned, Death From Beyond might actually be my favourite black metal album of the year. I can see this record scoring very highly amongst fans upon release, with the potential to break into the top 20, or even top 10, of many people’s prospective lists. It’s this effortless fusion of Dissection’s raw power with Abbath’s accessibility that gives this record the engaging might it possesses. Faust are a band that should be keenly looked upon as a stellar example of black metal done right and well. I legitimately savoured every minute this record played for and I will absolutely do so again.
