Review: Afsky – Fællesskab
Afsky’s “Fællesskab” is the fourth album of one of the few classy one-man-projects. The record cast a mirror cracked in slow motion, reflecting the dark communities we build. The overaching themes are the silent agreements we accept and the loneliness in togetherness, thus diving deeper into social critique. The title, translated “Community”, is deceptive; it sets a stage not of unity, but of the riff of dissent amidst the chorus of conformity. Over six tracks the album grows dense, assured, almost surgical in its approach.
From the opening track “Velkommen til livet,” the album begins with a haunting nod to innocence with afolk-tinged intro, before the hammer falls and the melancholic black metal seeps through the cracks, having the vocals cleaving through the calm. The tension between hope and collapse becomes a recurring motif. “Den der ingenting ved tvivler aldrig” hits with sharp melody and winter-metal chill. On “Natmaskinen” the pace accelerates; the machine of night, of society, of herd-mind is invoked in sound and rhythm. Later tracks like “Arveskam” and “Flagellanternes sang” push melodic structures into blackened flurries, riffs that swell then retract, melancholic but relentless. The closing “Svanesang” offers a sigh of finality rather than resolution as a swan song for the illusions of belonging.
Production plays a significant role in bringing theme and black metal together: guitars swirl and crash with clarity, the drums breathe weight, the bass underpins the furious and the still with equal gravity. Atmospheres matter here—moments of wakefulness and numbness alternate. Afksy doesn’t hide behind lo-fi blur; instead, the sound is clean enough to register subtlety, raw enough to keep the edge. Yet the album’s ambition also works against it at times: the length of individual tracks means the flow occasionally stalls, the transition from mood piece to explosion sometimes feels circuitous. A few riffs could have been trimmed, a tension arc tightened.
What elevates “Fællesskab” is how it makes concept and feeling one. The idea of community isn’t celebrated but dissected and passed through the filter of black metal and left as something cold, questioning, and quietly furious. While some listeners might miss the more expansive melody lines of earlier works, the virtue here is in focus rather than flourish. There’s a willingness to confront grace and guilt both, to carry melody with menace, sorrow with bite.
“Fællesskab” is a strong statement from Afsky. It might not shatter all expectations nor reinvent the wheel of atmospheric black metal, but it sharpens the blade. For listeners seeking black metal that thinks, that mourns, that rages, this album offers more than just texture – it offers purpose.
