While it can sometimes feel as though there isn’t enough going on within the world of funeral doom metal, it’s quite fitting that such a bleak sound where the light of hope typically goes to die is sparsely populated with only the truly deprived able to find a place to make their craft. As such, it can be quite some time between releases of note within the darkness that funeral doom metal holds dominion over. It hasn’t been since I came upon the debut from Oromet that I’ve seen funeral doom of real note, but it’s now with the arrival of Föhn that the scene has gained a substantial bastion of immensity.

This is the kind of record that demands a deep dive the likes of which are beyond my abilities to convey with all that tact and delicacy that such a thing requires in order to actually do justice for what we see before us. A breed of creation that holds nothing back with the very soul at the center of the record something that demands to be gazed upon should you ever hope to come close understanding such a monolithic piece, Föhn has tapped into a special thread that has always made funeral doom such an imposing beast that few are able to steer properly. Across the four tracks that clock in a little short of an hour-long runtime, “Condescending” sees the listener broken down to their barest aspects with naught left but a hollow shell for the spirit that we all call the flesh. An intense and mildly avant-garde creation that pushes along much of what funeral doom has become known for with its crushing heaviness, evocative themes, and general atmosphere of greys and sorrows, “Condescending” is anything but a by-the-numbers work for the likes of the genre. Where many seek to tap into these themes, Föhn makes it exceedingly clear from every point of entry that this is an effort born out of immense suffering with these four tracks the only hope the act could have for any semblance of catharsis. Bringing to the mix the nuance and tact to bring it all to life in a no less than exquisite form, Föhn makes its first effort something that demands to be heard.

As I said, a work like this demands a deep-dive the likes of which I do not hold the proper tools to execute properly. This is a work that embodies only the finest of what funeral doom metal can become when its given the proper time, approach, and mindset to craft such that the work becomes all that it can be with not many able to ascertain all of that in such a form that feels meaningful, potent, and unyielding in its varying forms of ferocity. A terrific beast in its own right from top to bottom, Föhn is a name we need to remember.

LISTEN to “Condescending” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Föhn on Facebook here.