I'd be hard pressed to find a better album to start this all off with. I first heard of Finsterforst right after their 2007 debut album, Weltencraft. Finsterforst has the distinction of being the band that convinced me that Folk Metal Can Be Awesome Too. The reason for the change of heart?
Cause they have an accordion player in their ranks. That's why. Countless metal bands try to include "non-metal" instruments with varying degrees of success. Pagan/folk metal bands are especially guilty of this but is one of those rare moments Finsterforst not only manage to blend the accordion in to their songs perfectly but manage to slay tune in tune out.
...Zum Tode Hin without question is an extension of what they did on their full length album from a couple years before so if this were a lesser band I could accuse the album of being same-y. But fuck it, Weltencraft is still a favorite of mine and I want more damn it. There's not a song on this album that clocks in under 10 minutes (the longest being over 21) but Finsterforst have a knack for changing up speeds on a regular basis so songs never feel like they run on too long.
There's a lot to this album that I'm skipping for the sake of brevity. Maybe once I get better at this writing thing I can look back and this and say "oh first entry, why can't you be more like entry #775."
Now come on guys, put some shirts on.
I enjoy this album as well as Weltenkraft, but in my opinion their best effort by far is their EP "Wiege der Finsternis", in which I find the riffs are a bit more gripping, and the clean guitars and accordions even better composed (if not as well produced)
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