Farewell

“Farewell” was composed and partially recorded by Karcharoth (aka Anextiomarus) and Capricornus back in 1996. Around this time Karcharoth (who also played in Graveland at the time) was kicked out of Graveland. Capricornus and Rob Darken then severed ties with Karcharoth due to the fact that he e.g. became a police informant, as the Polish police was investigating the local black metal scene. Infernum then remained inactive for a number of years. After Karcharoth’s suicide in 2004, Capricornus and Darken got together to finish “Farewell”.

During the years “Farewell” became some kind of mythical album to me. Every once in a while since the mid 90s I heard rumours about it maybe being released one day, so I kept my fingers crossed. In March 2005 that day finally came. The finished product was certainly worth waiting for and it sounds coherent too - not like it has been recorded in different sessions with several years in between.

The music isn’t as aggressive as on “Damned Majesty” and “...Taur-Nu-Fuin...” but it’s still very good, just calmer than before. Atmospheric Polish black metal in the early 90s vein with a mystical touch to it is still the name of the game. The main difference to the band’s previous material is that there are very few fast parts on this album and that there are a lot of clean guitars. An important ingredient for “Farewell” is the interplay between the guitars (both clean and distorted) and the synths. The beginning of “Reverence to the Obscure” really captivates the listener with its hypnotising guitar/synth combination, this part is in the same class as the “Det Som en Gang Var” track by Burzum. If you liked the way clean guitars are used on Veles’ “Night on the Bare Mountain”, you should definitely check out “Farwell” too, however the general feeling of the music is more pensive than on Veles’ debut.

There are times when the music feels a bit depressive as well but I’d still describe this stuff as mostly pensive and maybe a bit withdrawn. Somehow the material here makes me want to go deeper into myself and do some soul searching. I suppose the word “mature” can be used here, yes, this is definitely a more mature release than the previous stuff, yet it still keeps the Infernum essence. If you’re looking for another play-fast-and-scream-loud black metal album, this is definitely not it. “Black March” is the only song that has fast parts and some aggressive touches but also on this song the clean guitar parts are prominent. “Before the Locks of Twilight” relies very much on clean guitars and the distorted guitar is used more like a spice on this track. “Hisarna” is more along the lines of old Infernum stuff, in the vein of the track “Gammadion” from “...Taur-Nu-Fuin...” and it has no clean guitar parts at all.

The production is pretty raw but not bad and Capricornus’ drumming is better here than on the debut. The mixing is also better than on the debut in my opinion, as the guitar is more upfront and you can also hear the bass better. Capricornus’ vocals are competent but I do miss Karcharoth’s maniacal voice. Fortunately Capricornus does the vocals in a raspy manner, instead of the punky/hooligan style he uses in his own bands. There are only five tracks here and I wouldn’t have minded a few more. Then again I don’t know if Karcharoth had written more stuff for this album originally or not. The completion and release of “Farewell” after all these years is no cheap cash-in, the strength of the material will prove all who claim such a thing wrong.