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Finsterforst blew me and a lot of other people away with their outstanding 2012 breakthrough album, Rastlos, but then they spent the time since then producing some rather questionable output. First there was the follow-up Mach dich frei in 2015, which tried hard but could not live up to the album that came before it, and then there was the egregiously terrible EP in 2016 which foisted on us such abominations as a Miley Cyrus cover song as well as a cover of "Beat It".

All that is just to say I was a bit apprehensive when this new one emerged, because it has been a while since Finsterforst have seemed to be really taking things seriously. Imagine my relief when Zerfall proved to be every bit as good as Rastlos, if not a touch better, as there is a kind of mature assurance to the songwriting that carries it easily through the massive 78+ minute running time. This is more of the epic, sweeping Pagan/Folk songwriting I have wanted from this band, and this time out they sound less like Moonsorrow, and more like themselves. This band has lost a moderate amount of ground over the past seven years, but this one gets them right back on top of their game.