FINSTERFORST

Although their sound is squarely rooted in the atmospheres and esoteric instrumentation of folk metal, FINSTERFORST are plainly a distinct and singular force. Seven years ago, the Germans released their fifth full-length album, "Zerfall", outstripping their previous efforts by some distance. Dominated by the 36-minute "Ecce Homo", it was a record that took folk metal into more ambitious realms, and with a sense of urgency and refined grandeur that set the band apart from every last one of their peers. In 2026, FINSTERFORST are still operating on the same high plane of creativity, but rather than attempt to out-epic themselves on "Still", they have produced a follow-up to "Zerfall" that exploits the best of that album's textural and compositional ideas, while sharpening the dramatic songwriting that has long been their staple diet. Another 78-minute extravaganza (if we include the two excellent cover versions that are tagged on at the end),"Still" is fervently progressive, intermittently cinematic, and stuffed to the gills with bittersweet but triumphant melodies. Ranging from all-out bombast to the dreamy acoustic guitars of dark folk song "Fels", FINSTERFORST wear their versatility lightly and rarely stray too far from the beaten folk metal track, but this is still a quietly radical piece of work.

A quick glance at the track listing reveals that, yes, FINSTERFORST have constructed another towering colossus to bring "Still" to a close. But prior to that outpouring of ambition, the Germans have written a bunch of shorter, but no less impactful, hymns to humanity and the mysteries of the natural world. Whether expanding their songs to the ten-minute mark, as they do on the genuinely awe-inspiring "Im Wind", or keeping things to a succinct and economical five or six, this band have an unerring ability to make every moment sound important and striking. The opening "Obduktion" is so windswept and wild that it brings to mind the widescreen chills of INSOMNIUM and MOONSORROW, rather than anything from folk metal's higher profile, humor-driven wing. Similarly, "Stille Nacht" is a dark, theatrical anthem with an earthy undertow and a melody that will resound around your skull for weeks. Resolutely heavy and tinged with a BATHORY-like sense of elemental wonder, these songs have a palpable emotional heft propelling them forward, and vocalist Oliver Berlin deftly forges connections with the listener with a performance that is never less than achingly human and bathed in melancholy.

But when FINSTERFORST shed the shackles of tradition and venture into their progressive mind maze, "Still" is swiftly elevated to an even higher level of efficacy. The album-closing behemoth, "Leere", is a 24-minute exercise in brooding prog metal with all the folk-friendly trimmings. From blustery beginning to heart-stopping conclusion, it weaves such a dense and fascinating web of melodic death grandiloquence and aggressively atmospheric world-building that it would have worked just as well as a stand-alone statement. Arriving after a series of shorter but equally emotive tracks, it amounts to a mind-blowing crescendo of ideas and, oddly, outstrips the audaciously proportioned "Ecce Homo" on every level. Guitarist and chief driving force Simon Käflein, né Schillinger, has excelled himself, in terms of riffs, vocal toplines and every other quantifiable aspect of FINSTERFORST's vital, vibrant sound. Very obviously the strongest album in the band's 22-year career, "Still" aims high, reaches the summit with ease, and then showers the rest of us with finesse, fortitude and ingenuity. Folk metal is not big enough to contain them.