Finsternis was created in 1998 by bassist Anreischken and guitarrist Nettie. The idea was to create a style that bore the image of many things, yet wasn't easily classified. Although so-called traditional black metal was a big influence, Nettie and Anreischken had a desire to include influences from other breeds of music, alot of which, such as medieval and classical, weren't metal at all.
Vitzel, former vocalist and co-founder of the San Antonio band Dreadmoon, had been working with Anreischken on a black metal project at the time. They agreed to add their project into the mix and Finsternis was the result. The trio began writing songs, the first of which was a 30 minute opus called "Seven Bridges". At this point, the three decided that Finsternis was indeed worth pursuing and Anreischken contacted his brother, Kuester Maiar-former thrash metal drummer and fusion enthusiast.
In 1999, Finsternis began composing as a group. The old "seven Bridges" project was hacked to pieces and re-assembled, scaled down to a lean, angry 25 minutes, as the first piece of a violent concept-oriented concerto.
Live, Finsternis plays their piece continually. From the moment they take the stage, the music roars and doesn't cease until the last note of the last piece is played.
In 2001 They recorded their complete Opus, a 45 minute piece of music, called Sea of Blood.
Overall, strength is always an important facet to any black metal band, and
Finsternis delivers a set of strongly structured and intense black metal
music. The riffs are tight, and the sound of the lead guitar is stinging and
quite effective. There are a variety of influences at work here, and it
seems the band is mature enough to mesh them all cohesively enough to obtain
their own sound.
What lies ahead for them is surely up to them, but I salivate like a wolf at
what's in store down the road...Mike of Ma Kahru
Opus I - part I, II and III.
The musical approach is some very doom laden heavy metal, mixed with a little black metal. It is a very heavy album, it is nice to hear a band putting their money on heavyness instead of speed(not that there is anything wrong with speed, it is also killing!)
As mentioned there is 3 tracks throughout the 25 min. of music. So the tracks are pretty long. That isn't something which you'll notice because the music differs alot and there is alot of great great twists and leads to the music too, so it is never getting boring.
I must admit that this disc has gone straight to my usually old and icecold heart, so there must be something about this disc! If you are in need of some doomy music with hypnotic parts and a very special and eerie sound, as the band for sure can call their own, is "Eine Finster Nachtmusik" the right piece of art for you. I am for sure looking forward to their next release, which will hopefully be soon.
Until then the only right thing to do, is to open a bottle of red wine, lid a candle and listen to Finsternis, until the dawn breaks!
Anders/Nocturnal Horde webzine
Finsternis — Eine Finster Nactmusik, Self-Released
Finsternis is a black metal band hailing from none other than Waco, TX! Wait
a minute! Did I see that correctly? Yes, and Finsternis seems dead-set on
convincing all that some seriously dark, demented black metal can come from
such an unlikely place. The band refers to their music as “epic black
metal,” and with one glance at the track listing, it’s obvious this is an
apt description. Nactmusik features only one song, “Opus 1,” played in three
continuous parts: Resounding, The Journey and In the Halls of the Wicked.
While not from the blast-attack, windmill riffing school of black metal,
Finsternis opts for more of an atmospheric, moody style of BM that at times
sounds very avant-gardish and unconventional. Their originality and
singleness of vision is refreshing. The band needs to develop its sound a
little more — since tracks tend to meander a bit — but the artistic
integrity of this Waco band is quite welcome. Find out more about them at
www.finsternis.com. (Eric Thompson)
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