Review by Jeger on July 18, 2024.

Boasting a proud black metal scene bold as barbarism and as eclectic as Devin Townsend’s record collection with genre-innovative visionaries such as Harakiri For The Sky, Imperium Dekadenz, Horn, Finsterforst and Firtan spearheading its contemporary incursion - the Germanic movement - a not-so-subtle evolution from Bethlehem and Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult into something a bit more colorful than had ever been prophesied. Black metal for Solstice, for battle, for ale and for harvest… Firtan! Our aforementioned sons and daughter of the Great Olde Ones have arrived bearing fruits of olden times - sounds for the rousing of great spirits and of the warrior within. On September 13, 2024 Firtan will bestow upon their horde a fourth volume, Ethos, via the as-always-impressive AOP Records. 

Bringing down the thunder here… Like blackened azures split by lightning’s crack and the sonic boom of thunder that follows, godly stuff, stuff of barbaric legend and sweetly melodic as candy is 'Ethos'. The German scene is known for its forward-thinking bands and how the new crop have basically admonished the stagnant early 90’s worship of the current underground scene and have boldly stepped into a remarkable present day for the genre where respectable recording techniques breathe vitality into the music, all the while as bands explore unique concepts. In this case, an excursion into the realm of the existential as detailed through abstract poetic metaphors… Shit that only the person who wrote it understands no doubt, and definitely not my cup of lyrical tea. Why? I detest any kind of thematic abstraction or lyrics that skate around a core theme as opposed to getting balls deep into the subject matter and laying it out in digestible fashion. But man, the music is fine… 'Hrenga' feat. JJ of the previously mentioned Harakiri For The Sky and 'Zores' to unpin the gates and then chills… The suspense and the weight of it like the fixed gaze of a thousand muderers upon your naked body as you squeamishly whimper, and HEAVY! Textbook Germanic boldness in composition - Titan-slaying riffs that tower over earth-ploughing paradiddles-led rhythmic typhoons - contrasted by gentle acoustics during some parts and accented by the magnificent violin playing of one Klara Bachmair during others. This is Particular to the closer, 'Wenn Sich Mir Einst Alle Ringe Schließen' where she molds your mind like clay with every soothing stroke of the chord. 

Dissonance and chaos intertwining with harmony and melody. Frantic and frenetic but somehow so fluid and compositionally liquid-tight. Much to uncover from the maniacal 'Contra Vermes' where the old German scene heads are homaged with conventional blast-beat-driven, linear progressions and sans keyboards during the opening minutes; creating a most devastating intro to what turns into unbridled chaos as civilizations-crumbling riffs unfurl… Dynamic range converging with power and then simmering down into dreamlike states of lulling you into submission, but not before more of those double-take-inducing onslaughts continue to batter and bludgeon like a seasoned Barbarian’s war-hammer to the forehead… 

Just a different kind of black metal album. Elite! Uncompromising and fit for cinema. Another band that just makes AOP look like a fucking bunch of geniuses… Real groundbreaking yet traditional music that evokes visuals and creates an atmosphere for fantasy. Definitely not your typical hate-fueled black metal. Epic! Grande and soul-stirring as per late Germanic tradition. Firtan - a collective four LP’s into their journey and hands well up the skirts of greatness now. With Ethos, Firtan rev the intensity into the red and sound sexy doing it. You get to a point in your artistic quest for perfection that never comes where class is what stands paramount over all else and Firtan happen to ooze that coveted level of pro-grade elitism; translating it into BM of a most admirable consort. The Olde Gods! Pagan fires blazing the night now and through barriers between what separates what’s becoming predictable Scandinavian BM and this new majestic-as-a-fucking-mountain German stuff we go. A gem here… 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10