ALBUM REVIEW: II – Fuath
Best known for his stunning work with SAOR, Glasgow’s Andy Marshall has revived a project long thought dead and buried. A far darker, more traditional black metal outfit than SAOR, FUATH released a brilliant debut album in 2016, but all signs from Marshall showed that it was a one-and-done project. Five years on and FUATH has risen from the grave with II. Armed with a new deal with Season of Mist Underground Activists, does Marshall progress from his side-project’s debut, or was this a band better left well alone?
Over the course of the 2010s, Marshall released four incredible albums through SAOR, blending black metal influences with traditional Scottish folk music and creating soundscapes drenched in beauty and melancholy. Those coming to FUATH for the first time and expecting a similar sound driven by soaring and heart-wrenching Celtic melodies are in for a rough awakening. Right from the opening barrage of Prophecies it is abundantly clear II is a journey into the grim winter darkness, not a sombre exploration of Scotland. A rasped scream and drum fill opens proceedings, blast beats dominating the rhythm section while discordant leads and Marshall‘s throaty rasps take centre stage in the mix. The midsection of Prophecies is built on a more melodic lean, a big, earworm tremolo riff drives the track forward while subtle hints of clean vocals from Marshall bring an ethereal edge and a more down-tempo black metal passage helps to really push the atmosphere. towards the close of the track.
From there, things just get darker and darker. The Pyre is as close as II gets to a mid-paced stomper, a restrained urgency running throughout amid the bombardment of classic black metal riffing, some dungeon-style synths low in the mix adding to the atmosphere without being overpowering, while album highlight Into the Forest of Shadows brings a healthy dose of melancholy into the maelstrom of blast beats and tremolo riffs. The short, synth-led bridges bring a spellbinding change of pace, breaking up the aggression very nicely without outstaying their welcome, while the melodic mid-section allows the final punch to hit all the harder.
The closing couplet of Essence and Endless Winter maintain the momentum FUATH has built throughout II, closing the record off with aplomb. Penultimate offering Essence is as a fun time as music so grim can be, blackened speed metal grooves bleeding into synthy atmospherics and melodic black metal salvos. There’s some beautiful melodies sprinkled throughout the nine-and-a-half minute run time, and the closing whirlwind of black metal’s core elements leading into a stripped back, unsettling passage is truly glorious. It’s closing offering Endless Winter that really steals the show, though. There’s no fanfare here, no overlong introduction – Marshall hits the jugular on the first note, the urgency and intensity II has built coming to a head. Melodious, dripping with vitriol and atmospheric in the extreme, Endless Winter is a perfect end to II, wonderfully encapsulating the record in its most visceral form.
Marshall has smashed all expectations once again. The progression shown from FUATH‘s debut to II is uncanny, evolving from a one of-side project into a band that can hang with the best in the genre. With enough atmosphere and melody to keep things memorable, II is a whirlwind of old-school black metal, in all it’s brutal glory. Eviscerating, shrouded in darkness and complete with a stunning production job that perfectly walks the line between abrasion and clarity, FUATH‘s second coming may just be the best thing to happen to UK black metal this year.
Rating: 9/10
II is out now via Season of Mist Underground Activists.
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