Review: “Morbid Symphonies” by Farsoth

“Farsoth’s second album Morbid Symphonies is simply 10 death metal songs done with the passion for music and the genre. As always Farsoth aims to make songs that will make you headbang, join a mosh pit and chug a beer or two. If you are looking for music that will make you do the reptile dance, look no further. Farsoth invites all of you to join the madness and friendship of death metal. Let’s make Morbid Symphonies the album that everyone talks about. Stay brutal and keep listening to awesome music. Hope that you will enjoy what we bring to the table” ~ Farsoth

The brainchild of guitarist Jari Kuusisto (Leech, In Thy Dreams, Godsic), Old School HM2 Swedish Death Metal act Farsoth was given life in 2020 with the recruitment of a collection of equally seasoned musicians with a wealth of ancient history to support him. Together, vocalist Joakim Mikiver (Prosperity, Vituperation, Tormention), bassist Jonas Magnusson (Facebreaker, Ashes, Kill Captain Killer) and second guitarist Kristofer Elemyr (Mortellez, Ereb Altor, Sectu) wrote and recorded the bands debut album “The Plague” with session drummer Chris Barkensjö (Godsic, Lik, Mefisto) in 2021. While the band struggled in their search for a permanent drummer, the album was released in independently in September 2022, just a few months before the tragic passing of Elemyr in the December. Having decided that the show must go on, early 2023 saw Johnny Nymark (One Hour In Hell, Oxide, Fuel For Nightmares) brought in as a second guitarist while the band inked a deal with Black Lion Records. In their hour of need they turned to the vastly experienced Teddy Möller (Anima Morte, Gauntlet Rule, Loch Vostok), a multi instrumentalist and vocalist who famously appeared as Septic Ted on the Strapping Young Lad album “City“. In a session drummer capacity he recorded at studio Caustrophobic with Ronny Hemlin before the album was mastered by Ronnie Björnström. Here ends the history lesson.

An album of 10 tracks cut down from 14 recorded, “Morbid Symphonies” goes from zero to sixty in 0.2 seconds as Farsoth put the pedal to the Metal with the blistering “Hate“. A classic breakneck Death Metal cut of the finest order, it has all the blasting and seething vocals you’d expect while the clank-y bass from Magnusson gives the track a different textural dimension which works really well. The war machine marches on with “Nothingness“, a cut that has some Melodic Death Metal leads which add a sense of melancholia before the skull battering reaches ferocious levels in the final final moments. Möller is a fantastic drummer, perfectly suited to what the rest of the band are trying to do and his performance on this one in particular is immense. “Infernal Bondage” then moves into Groove Death territory with a deeply satisfying head-bangable riff that sounds like Kerry King playing Lamb Of God on steroids. It also boasts lyrics you can really scream-a-long to as Mikiver’s uncleans fall on the side that means you can hear every word, something that will ensure this one becomes a live favourite. Alexander Högbom of October Tide fame joins for the album title track and he goes toe to toe with Mikiver in a murderous tale that adds fuel to the fire which threatens to burn out of control. All that’s missing from this rampage is a face melting solo, Farsoth instead choosing to let their rhythmic battery do all the talking. After all, who needs a knife at a brick fight?

Maintaining the tempo of the damned energy levels, “Bound To Death” feels like getting crushed beneath the caterpillar tracks of the Farsoth tank even though there is something of an anthemic chorus and some powerful leads on show. The decision has been made to keep those leads low in the mix and pummel the listener to death with earworm rhythmic prowess on this one, which works incredibly well. That being said with “Afterlife” the leads are more prominent with that sinister edge to the menacing overtones particularly impressive. “Provoke Me” has a hummable main riff, the kind of thing that gets stuck in your head for hours and you need a tweezers to extract as it dances around the cerebral cortex. The album isn’t at the brutal end of Death Metal or lyrically gore fuelled so the chain saw sample and screams in the centre of this one sound a little hammer horror but it is a touch of class none the less. Taking a leaf from American Death Metal in the riff department “Your Death” is one of those that within a couple of seconds you know is going to be a banger. As addictive as the pain killers you stole from an old man’s medicine cabinet, this mid tempo crusher has enough variation to keep you satisfied while Mikiver gives out enough lyrical source material to be a suspect should a murder be committed. Things go into overdrive for “Rotten Flesh Stew” which gives the album a real injection of adrenaline at a vital moment. Sharpening their implements of destruction, this one is an all out onslaught at demolition speed with a deeper death growled vocal opposed by a shriller one in another vocal layer at times giving a really nice contrast. The brooding atmospheric of “World Beyond” brings the beast home to roost with an evil look in its eye and its a fittingly savage ending to a classy album… [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Hate
2. Nothingness
3. Infernal Bondage
4. Morbid Symphony (ft. Alexander Högbom of October Tide)
5. Bound To Death
6. Afterlife
7. Provoke Me
8. Your Death
9. Rotten Flesh Stew
10. World Beyond

“Morbid Symphonies” by Farsoth is out 27th October 2023 via Black Lion Records with pre-orders available over at bandcamp.