Out of the throngs of acts that black metal has seen the rise of since the turn of the century, there surely is a list that many would consider essential as we move forward in figuring out who the very faces of the scene will become in their respective corners of the very territory the scene has come to cover as a whole. That list could become downright monolithic, but out of the many that have earned their spots on that list, Falls of Rauros simply must be considered among them. Since their inception, the quartet has been a true force to reckon with as their blend of black and folk metal has made for one potent performance after another without exception. Yet, even though they’ve continued that wondrous trend, it’s their newest work that sets a different bar with a much different tone.

It’s no secret that black metal as a whole is a caustic sound that can easily stray into the dark world of nihilism with as much as a simple step, but it’s with a lack of nuance that many bands can find themselves sticking a landing that could have so much more of an impact no matter how true such views might be in some form or another. For their sixth full-length record, Falls of Rauros makes a distinct shift in their themes that tend to swirl around themes of nature and contemporary themes of the such with the very core of “Key to a Vanishing Future” being able to be discerned simply from that foreboding title. It’s for these six tracks that Falls of Rauros tackle the very real threat on humanity’s psyche that’s always prevalent no matter what time period we’re considering: how every person is born into a world by pure happenstance and are then given the impossible task of shaping the future with their actions such that everything turns out for the better. That’s a very real threat upon the sanity of hundreds of millions of people all over the world throughout time, and it’s in every given moment of “Key to a Vanishing Future” that this band manages to do such a hard-to-approach topic with a surprising level of aptitude that’s handled wondrously by immaculate black metal that simply cannot be denied even as Falls of Rauros seems to shake off some of their folk tendencies for this record as if to make it even more of a change of pace for the band and its sound. Other than being a tremendous representation of the natural human fear of the future and all of its uncertainties, the very fiber of “Key to a Vanishing Future” signals a change for Falls of Rauros that still checks off all the boxes that the band has been doing so since their very beginnings with everything about this record from its riffs to its messages to its very atmosphere showing us just how much this band keeps moving, never once satisfied with their sound sitting in one spot for too long with the idea always to push forward.

Such a record like this is all but destined to become a critical moment in the very history of this band with naught but praise surely to follow for years to come for all that it brings to the table while still undeniably being a creation that can only be accredited to Falls of Rauros despite the shifts made. Every facet of “Key to a Vanishing Future” is made exactly of all that has made black metal such a treat to bite into time after time in recent years with everything down to the very soul of this record exactly what Falls of Rauros needs to be considered one of the best we have the privilege of hearing without exception.

“Key to a Vanishing Future” releases on March 25th via Gilead Media and Eisenwald!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Key to a Vanishing Future” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Falls of Rauros on Facebook here.