One Listen Review
1st Listen 21July 26
Reviewed 24 July 26
Faustian – Parable of the Sewer
Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Released 24 July 26
I’m going to put this out there – when you think Australia, black metal bands will not be the first thing to pop into your head. Parable of the Sewer is the 2nd album by Aussie black metal trio Faustian. It is also a bit perplexing.
On the one hand, Faustian hit every genre trope in terms of the riffs, blast-beats, the vocal style and the thematic lyrics. Every box ticked with confidence. Still, based on one listen alone, the album just leaves you a bit, ‘is that it’.
Yes, it starts well. ‘I Curse You’ is immediate, unrelenting, heavy and aggressive. A decent start. It is followed by the rather excellent, ‘Broken Better’ where it has a slower beginning and an impressively pained shriek by vocalist Sam Bean. Then the song attacks, creating an atmospheric haunting vibe that resonates. Another strong effort is the penultimate track, ‘Tenements (Only the Wicked Walk in Circles)’. Here, the boys bring respite and nuance to the album, with well placed breakdowns differentiating it from some of the other tracks.
The issue the one listen provides is that across the albums 8 songs and near 42 minute run time, the black metal genre limits the growth of the album. There were times where I
was switching off during the songs, not getting bored exactly, more distracted. Songs like ‘Cephalophone’ are solid enough, but not enough to reach out and grab you by your metaphorical balls and make you squeal. I felt every minute of the song’s 5 minute plus run-time, and that is not particularly long for a track in this genre.
When Faustian hit, they hit hard. The aggression and quality of the music excels and so you are left in wonder why you are thinking that Parable of the Sewer should be so much more.
The DevilsHorns 
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