Wednesday 2 December 2015

Fórn - "Weltschmerz" EP (Review)

By: Chris Bull

Album Type: EP
Date Released: 19/11/2015
Label: Gilead Media



The distortion kicks in and reduces everything to rubble. Stylistically, it's blackened funeral doom; depressing and bleak in it's melody but inherently evil and completely devastating. The vocals are growled from the bowels of the underworld and screamed from the edge of oblivion.  , Fórn have created something perfect for the end of the year; let it smash your 2015 into oblivion like a biblical flood. You can start anew in 2016.


'Weltschmerz' DD//LP track listing:

1). Saudade (Part I)
2). Saudade (Part II)
3). Dolor (Part I)
4). Dolor (part II)

The Review:

Boston MA's Fórn have delivered one of the bleakest, most soul crushing albums of 2015 with 'Weltschmerz' and that pleases me so...

'Saudade Part I' starts with mournful guitar playing like the weight of the world rests solely on the shoulder of the player. As a second guitar joins in briefly, we're treated to sorrow in its purest form. The distortion kicks in and reduces everything to rubble. Stylistically, it's blackened funeral doom; depressing and bleak in it's melody but inherently evil and completely devastating. The vocals are growled from the bowels of the underworld and screamed from the edge of oblivion by vocalist Chris Pinto. 3 and half minutes in, the tempo increases momentarily before its doomier side slithers back in. 'Saudade Part II' is more ambient and post apocalyptic than its predecessor, mostly utilising clean guitars and no drums. 'Dolor Part I' follows with everything slowly crushing from the get go, washing away all life in swathes of overdriven and reverberating guitars. A clean, picked riff stands alone on the precipice of the earth before the second wave hits and destroys buildings, mountains and trees. As the final note plays out it bleeds slowly into 'Dolor Part II'. An apocalyptic wasteland, drowning in its own decay is all that remains. Solemn and sombre guitars build claustrophobically, engulfing and entangling the listener and slowly diminishes into feedback.

Despite only being 2 actual songs and 2 drumless instrumentals, there is plenty of tectonic doom to be had, it's similar to 2014's 'The Departure of Consciousness' but warm and earthy. With 'Weltschmerz', Fórn have created something perfect for the end of the year; let it smash your 2015 into oblivion like a biblical flood. You can start anew in 2016.


“Weltschmerz” is available here

Band info: bandcamp | facebook