Band:	Urfaust
Album:	Einsiedler
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	July 2009

01. IX: Der Einsiedler
02. Verderber

Urfaust is a curious band. "Ritualistic" or "fun" are words that come to mind when describing their music, and both whacky song titles and the gibberish IX sings are as supportive of these statements as the compositions themselves. The first thing that comes to mind for me however, is sadness.

Enter Einsiedler, a small release that seemingly didn't get a lot of attention. "Einsiedler" means "hermit" in German. Few other languages are as cold and distant as German can be - a perfect fit for the theme.
Being a hermit is a lonely existence.

"IX: Der Einsiedler" is one of the very few songs whose first seconds can instantly turn my mood dark. You know what's coming based on the first few notes. The first half of the song is dominated by this incredibly powerful synth chord progression, supported by monotonous riffs and drums after a few minutes. You can hear the wind howl through the empty wood, no figure in sight. Then the vocals hit. IX's singing has always been the stuff every DSBM band could be envious of, but has never as strong as here, buried under synths and the monotonous riffs. No matter how hard you try, you can't make out what he's singing. He's too far away, the voice is too much like crying and speaking a whole different language entirely. Loneliness does that to a person. Only a few loud shrieks end the mourning and suffering, and then the song starts it's second half and breaks the monotony while maintaining the atmosphere. The riffs end, and the synths basically play a solo. The only thing left is reflection on the just witnessed despair.

"Verderber" (German for "ruiner", "spoiler" or "corrupter") transforms the theme. While still being a dark song, supported by the hollow production, the shrieking vocals and the noise background, the guitars carry it this time. Playing mostly one riff with slight variations, it's a massive relief compared to the utter solitude and despair presented by the first track. There's a bit more punch to the riff and anger in the vocals compared to the first song. Life goes on, but too often sadness gives way to bitterness and mean-spiritedness. When you have nothing but emptiness and sadness by your side, others become less worthy to you. You start resenting others, with whatever reasoning.

And so a fun band managed to craft a short EP that hits me on so many levels, and crushes the entire DSBM subgenre and all that without a single real word. You don't need words to understand sadness, as sadness is the only thing you really understand about the other person. It's universal but also strange and scary.