Seventeen years in, Urfaust has continued to offer haunting textures that don’t quite sound like any other band. With roots in dark ambient and black metal, recent material has favored slower, methodical tempos that gave off a powerful and ritualistic feel to them and 2018’s The Constellatory Practice saw them achieving even greater heights. Two years later the Dutch act has returned with another release that defies genre conventions, Teufelsgeist. This album captures sprawling, beautiful melodies and tense, terrifying moments as it explores the levels of intoxication through music (with an accompanying gin to go with the album that I’m guessing will never make it into the United States). In the hands of another band the concept might seem gimmicky or half-baked, but Urfaust uses it to their advantage and offers material that is truly stunning and will stick with those that give it proper attention.
Given that the initial stages of intoxication are often bright and sometimes euphoric for people, it makes sense that Teufelsgeist would start off with music to match. The ten and a half minute “Offerschaal der astrologische mengvormen” is likely to draw quite a few listeners in with soaring melodies that reach for the stars, and as with some of Urfaust’s prior work there are elements to the writing that bring classical and medieval period music to mind. Tempo wise this song remains slow and methodical, similar to the elements the band used on The Constellatory Practice but re-framing them through an even more grandiose lens. This approach continues on the second track but the there’s a significant tonal shift towards much darker, ominous melodies and the drums pound even harder as if to signal the nightmares that are yet to come. From this point forward the album becomes a bit less predictable, shedding some of its predecessors’ structure in favor of dark and tense ambient arrangements that provoke a feeling of dread and despair. “Van alcoholische verbittering naar religieuze cult” retains a sense of wonder even as it starts to send chills down your spine with rippling electronics and a haunting melody that feels like it’s leading you down into a dark dungeon, while “Het godverlaten leprosarium” brings back the nightmarish chanting and abrasive ambient elements that Urfaust utilized on 2015’s Apparitions EP, pushing it almost into noise territory towards the end. It’s an approach that perfectly matches its concept, as those who often overindulge can see hints of the impending darkness but it still manages to sneak up without warning, and that’s exactly what Teufelsgeist achieves. Stylistically there are elements of black metal’s nightmarish and twisted tones alongside doom, dark ambient, and noise, but everything has been stretched and reshaped into something that doesn’t fit perfectly into any of those boxes.
IX’s operatic singing has been a defining element of Urfaust’s music for some time, but in recent years it has sounded even more confident and brought forward in the mix rather than just barely breaking through the layers. This holds true on Teufelsgeist, as his performance on the opening track is powerful and beautiful in equal capacity and makes the song come through with such an immense amount of energy that it can almost be overwhelming. But this is just one piece of the puzzle, as the vocals break from singing into some screaming and otherworldly chants over the course of the album, matching the tonal shift that represents one spiral into delirium from their intoxication. For those that were turned off by the extremely high-pitched shrieks and screams on Empty Space Meditation, the abrasive aspects aren’t quite as ear splitting this time around but they still leave a significant impact. None of these elements deviate from what Urfaust has utilized in the past, but IX only seems to stand out more with each new recording.
It may not be the ideal starting point for newcomers, but Urfaust’s latest effort provides material that listeners can get completely lost in and does the concept of putting the stages of intoxication to music justice. Their sound is still wholly unique and while all these individual elements have been explored to some degree on their prior discography, they’re woven together in a way that still manages to feel fresh. Give this one some extended listening time, perhaps with a drink in hand, and you’ll discover a truly engaging and sometimes tense album. Teufelsgeist is available from Ván Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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