"Untergang" by Urfaust

For nearly twenty years, Urfaust has been at the forefront of avant-garde music. Although the group consists of only two members, Willem Niemarkt on guitar and vocals and Jim Dokter on drums, they were able to conjure mythical and otherworldly universes through the power of sheer simplicity. As a mere duo, this Dutch band is able to create a larger-than-life sound that musters the imagery of the occult. Pushing back against traditional genre categorizations, the group seamlessly blends elements of Black Metal, Ambient, Modern Classical, Noise, and traditional European Folk Music in order to create a truly unique sound. To the shock of many fans, though, Urfaust announced that after exactly two decades, they were calling it quits and releasing their final album through Van Records on August 11th. On this final album, “Untergang”, which serves as both a funeral dirge and celebration of the band’s creative output, Urfaust achieves a stunning level of coherence without sacrificing any creative integrity. 

Although Urfaust has always been a grim band, “Untergang”, which translates to “downfall” in English, sees the band in their most despondent and heavy form. From the torrential wall of noise in the opening track “Untergang” to the slow and ominous synth drones of “Reliquienstaub”, Urfaust create an enrapturing and eclectic blend of sound that remains consistently dark. One of the highlights of the album is the vocal performance, which can be described as a channeling of a purely abnormal and unique creativity. Alternating between demented screams and a nearly euphoric operatic croon, vocalist IX is able to take the listener on a manic journey that captures an emotional honesty rarely seen in the realm of modern metal.

Musically, the album alternates between two styles. Instead of blending metal and ambient like on the previous albums, there exists a distinct dichotomy between genres on this album. Half of the tracks hearken back to the grandiose but heavy sound of Urfaust’s 2010 opus “Der Freiwillige Bettler” while the other half remain mostly electronic. Surprisingly, there is a level of coherence between tracks that one would not expect to find on an album that is so incredibly divided. Every song channels a consistent thematic despair that helps to ease the whiplash between sounds. The album’s closer, “Abgrund”, stands as one of Urfaust’s best tracks, and sees the vocals fully embrace their operatic influences against the backdrop of a simple but haunting musical accompaniment. This song, and the album as a whole, succeeds in enchanting the listener through a nearly ritualistic repetition.

The production on the album is undoubtedly another highlight. IX’s guitar tracks are mixed in a suffocatingly heavy manner based on feedback and distortion, and create an ultimately pummeling experience. The songs are highly layered as well. Subtle but atmospheric synth pads are laid under the deluge of noise, adding a level of contemplation and sophistication to the otherwise Dionysian experience of “Untergang”. The drone-centered songs are similarly atmospheric, and expertly build tension through a steady heightening of noise that eventually results in a nihilistic and cathartic crescendo. 

Lyrically, there is not much one can say about “Untergang” or any of Urfaust’s other albums. Vocalist IX has admitted that the lyrics to the tracks are purely nonsensical, and are ad-libbed on the spot. In spite of this, the band is able to make a clear ideological statement through their music and imagery alone, which attests to both the despair of human life and the purification that can be found through honest creative expression. Running the risk of sounding hackneyed, Urfaust’s creativity transcends the need for dialect, and strives to connect to instinctual human impulses that are commonly stifled in the age of reason. According to “Untergang”, without acknowledging the primitive and unsavory, the individual can never fully realize themselves. This appears to be the central philosophy of both “Untergang” and Urfaust as a whole, and the band presents this ethos in a matured and sophisticated manner.

While I may speak the praises of “Untergang” to the moon and back, I cannot help but feel slightly disappointed by this album, though. It is undoubtedly a victory, and succeeds in creating a unique atmosphere, but does not contain the passion and raw emotion of previous Urfaust projects or the Apollonian crispness of their later works. It is a mature album that is representative of a band that has spent twenty years honing their craft, but loses some of the simplicity that made the earlier albums so perfect. “Untergang” exists in a purgatorial space between the frenzy and catharsis of the band’s 2004 “Geist ist Teufel” and the contemplative grandiosity of their 2018 project “The Constellatory Practice”.  Despite “Untergang” probably being my least favorite of Urfaust’s major releases, it is still another successful entry in the band’s catalog.