For years the Danes are at the forefront of the post black metal scene, with the likes of ORM and Kold they produce epic masterpieces which transcend the genre at a new level. But the most hardworking and visible of them all is Copenhagen’s Afsky.
Since 2015 Ole Pedersen Luk is recording, touring and promoting Afsky’s music. Playing countless live shows, releasing albums (not always black metal) and shipping a lot of merch across the globe, ranging from shirts, jewelry and household items, all with a very d.i.y. attitude which has earned him a lot of fans and support…
One look at their Encyclopaedia Metallum page under the links page illustrates they level of commitment from Afsky, I think that every platform is mentioned. So it doesn’t matter which music service or website you use, you cannot miss Afsky.
But enough about that, on to the music.
2023’s Om hundrede år was nothing short of a masterpiece, so expectations where of course high with their latest full length Fællesskab.
The album was released on Eisenwalt records on vinyl, cd and tape and runs almost 45 minutes. With only six songs you know that it will be an atmospheric ride through the whole Afsky spectrum.
The album kicks of with an (odd) intro which seems somewhat out of place, Danish is not my strong suit so I’m probably missing the point. That said I only lasts a few seconds before we dive headfirst into the familiar Afsky black metal sound with “Velkommen til livet” which starts as a midtempo song with the signature somewhat out of tune sound of Afsky, soon to erupt in an almost classical composed rollercoaster ride of melodies, blastbeats and semiclassical passages. Combined with the very unique singing style of Ole, this is a strong start to the album.
The next three songs “Den der ingenting ved tvivler aldrig”, “Natmaskinen” and “Arveskam” continue the musical direction set on the first track with “Natmaskinen” being the odd one with a somewhat folkloric sound on the melody, but leave it to Ole to mix al that in his music. Together with a typical classic acoustic passage, it makes this one stand out positively.
“Flagellanternes sang” also leans heavely on that acoustic Afsky sound with fast blastbeats and acoustic parts. Making it an hypnotic trip which continues into the final eleven minute track
“Svanesang” completing the album with all the aforementioned Afsky staples…
You may have noticed I used a lot of “Afsky sound” and signature sound of.. etc.
And that somewhat sums up my final verdict on this album. You cannot deny it is very good composed album, but it sounds all a little too familiar. From a band like Afsky it all feels a little “on autopilot”. Where previous albums were all very distinguishable, this one just feels the same. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a very good album, but with previous albums being masterpieces the bar is set very high.
But that is of course my opinion, go listen for yourself and agree or disagree…
80/100
Afsky:
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Eisenwald:
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