Band of the week 33/2025
Origin: Münster, Germany
Genre: Black Metal with classical influences
Hier geht’s zur deutschen Version.
The band about itself:
FERNDAL started out in mid-2016 to claim their place in a long established black metal circus. Five musicians from throughout Germany gathered their professional mastery reaching from classical music to Black Metal. In their first two albums, they manifested their unique style entrenching the violoncello as an equally deployed instrument between two distorted guitars. Thus, FERNDAL creates sonic worlds seamlessly blending in premonitions from baroque grace or romantic melancholy in between a veil of pure black metal aggression. They are known for turning every stage into an infernal orchestra reaching out for every single black soul and not releasing the tight grip before the last note fades. And yet, the quintet is devising their third opus to deliver down to earth.
Editorial commentary:
Sometimes it takes a second listen to really „get“ a band and have them leave a lasting impression on you. That’s what happened to me with Ferndal, whom I saw for the second time this year at the Mahlstrom Open Air. While they didn’t stick in my memory with the same intensity the first time I saw them (four years ago and also at the Mahlstrom Open Air), they left an intense, lasting and deserved impression on my mind this time around. Although the band stepped in as a replacement for the opening act at short notice, and thus kicked off the day, their performance was very convincing. However, I imagine the staging with burning torches as more effective at concerts later in the day or in a dark room. In the midday heat, it lost some of its impact. But despite this detail, the band managed to get quite a few visitors to stand in front of the stage in the infield early on to enjoy the performance.
They were rewarded with dense, atmospheric black metal, which, in addition to german lyrics, features a rare speciality: the violoncello played by Lestaya. While classical instruments in metal usually contrast with the guitars and tend to play folk-like melodies, in this case, the cello is on equal footing with the guitars, creating a completely different soundscape. And yet, it also has its individual moments. But enough bowing, because there’s also some serious thrashing going on. The band doesn’t skimp on the double bass and also shows good tempo in their string playing.
The band at Dark-Art:
- Festivalbericht: Mahlstrom Open Air 2025 – Freitag
- Mahlstrom Open Air – Bilder vom Freitag
- Mahlstrom Open Air 2021 – der Bericht
Live impressions:
Music recommendation:
Links:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Spotify
YouTube
Band of the week is our weekly posting about a band we recommend and is posted every Tuesday at 8pm (CEST). These are bands that are just at the beginning of their career and that we think should receive more attention.
You can also find all the bands we’ve featured this year in our playlist on Spotify!
(bei den untenstehenden Links die entsprechende Kalenderwoche ersetzen)
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