Review by Michael on December 15, 2020.

One of the longest serving black metal bands in the Netherlands Funeral Winds, who are now based in the Czech Republic, strikes again. The look at the cover makes me wonder - didn't Katharsis (Germany) have a similar devil's face on their "666" album? Let's see if Essence musically goes in the same direction as "666", or if it is a bit more accessible than the rather sick and disturbing albums of the Germans.

It begins with a somewhat sluggish start, but the tempo is soon increased significantly. Hellchrist Xul's voice sounds like it should for an old school black metal album, very grim and evil, the guitars are sawing nasty and spread a very uncomfortable feeling. The tracks are almost all kept in a fairly high to very high tempo and remind of old Darkthrone, old Mayhem or even Katharsis. However, I feel the pieces by far are not as chaotic as Katharsis, but they are quite a bit more accessible, which is mainly due to the partly very rhythmically played drums. The production is as you would expect from an OSBM band that performs as "evil" as possible - pretty rough and unpolished. The most recommendable song is 'The Bowls of Wrath and Ancient Hate', which is quite reminiscent of Darkthrone in the slower passages and is probably the most accessible of all the songs on the CD.

All in all Essence has become a pretty solid OSBM that doesn't come up with any surprises. Fans of the above mentioned bands should definitely give it a listen.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on August 25, 2015.

The folk element of this album runs strong and it’s an authentic album in the sub-genre without a doubt. This album competes nicely with Saor’s Aura for an ethnic treat in folk. There is a large amount of accordion usage with this band and that differs from Saor, however.

The sounds created by this outfit are bleak and haunting. Every passage has a melody or moment that stands out and grasps the listener’s attention. Like much folk, these passages are extended for a very long period of time. This allows the music of Finsterforst to slowly work its magic. The music has a nature that is similar to Celtic music and this sounds authentic and real. The music here is so beautiful that it overshadows the vocals. Sounding much like Vintersorg, this person does a pretty good job at adding the appropriate colour to the tracks on Rastlos. Right from the gate, Nichts als Asche is a highlight with its complex and involved structure. The remainder of the tracks pattern themselves after this strong effort. Acoustic guitars are interspersed at the proper moments to add mood. When taken as a whole, there are a lot of things to like about the music on this release. It sets the proper tone at will and captivates on many levels. The problem with this music is indeed that is sounds too close to that album by Saor. This is unfortunate, but there aren’t that many bands that sound exactly like Finsterforst. Therefore, the listener has a ton of reasons to listen to the band and not many negatives. Though it isn’t outstandingly innovative sounding, Rastlos is certainly moody and atmospheric at all the right moments and a solid piece of folk metal on the whole. The wonders that are hinted at on the cover are only more than present on this disc.

Rating: 8 out of 10