Filsufatia/Buried Beneath And Forgotten/Fragile Branch Recordings/2013 Cassette Re-Issue Review

  Filsufatia  are  a  1  man  band  from  Malaysia  that  has  been  featured  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  I  would  describe  as  being  an  instrumental  form  of  depressive  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of their  2011  demo  "Buried  Beneath  And  Forgotten"  which  was  released  by  Fragile  Branch  Recordings.

  "Buried  Beneath  And  Forgotten"  begins  with  some  soft  synth  playing  and  after  a  few  seconds  drum  programming  and  depressive  black  metal  guitar  riffs  make  their  presence  known  while  also  keeping  around  the  synths  and  after  awhile  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  leads.

  "Through  The  Deep"  begins  with  drum  beats,  powerful  bass  guitars  and  melodic  leads  and  after  awhile  the  rhythm  guitars  make  their  presence  known  which  leads  to  some  background  synths  and  more  melodic  guitar  solos  and  the  song  closes  in  a  softer  direction.

  "Between  Life  And  Lifeless"  begins  with  some  depressive  black  metal  guitar  riffs  and  amp  effects  which  in  return  leads  to  some  drum  beats,  powerful  bass,  synths  and  melodic  guitar  leads  and  after  a  few  minutes  there  is  a  brief  use  of  soft  parts  before  returning  to  its  heavier  roots  for  a  few  seconds  and  closing  with  the  softer  sections.

  "Senja  Murung"  begins  with  some  synths  that  utilize  a  variety  of  many  different  keys  as  well  as  some  drum  programming  and  the  melodic  guitar  leads  kick  in  towards  the  end.

  Song  themes  cover  darkness  and  depression,  while  the  production  has  a  very  powerful  and  dark  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  demo.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Filsufatia  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  instrumental  depressive  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Buried  Beneath  And  Forgotten"  and  "Between  Life  And  Lifeless".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Filsufatia Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the project these days? Hello . Sure. For your information, Filsufatia have just released its 8th demo last week, and like always, it is available for free and downloadable around the internet, if you know how to look for them. Or you can always head over to my blog: www.thebulletbelt.blogspot.com. The demo is called The Grand Eulogy and it contains 4 songs including an intro, with over 24 minutes playtime. Everythings alrite down here in Malaysia. Metallica just visited, just so you know.

2.How would you describe the musical sound of the new demo and how it differs from previous releases? Filsufatia’s new demo, The Grand Eulogy, is a little bit more elaborate compared to the previous demos. The sound is still Melancholic/Depressive Black Metal but this time, the songs were longer and the melodies were more focused. I took my time with this demo and it shows.

3. What are some of the images and concepts you bring out with your music? Images? None. As for the concept, I would say, sadness and depression. The feel of melancholy and gloomy. There will always be beauty in everything, even in sadness.

4.The music is all instrumental, are there any plans of using vocals in the future? This is one of the frequently asked questions that we got from our listeners. We do have plans to use vocals in the future, but time is not on our side at the moment. Adding vocal parts would certainly add a new dimension to the song. Filsufatia would love to experiment with vocals. There are indeed a couple of experimental tracks where Paul Ravenwood of Twilight Fauna provided some vocals on, but in the meantime, we have no plans to release it. Maybe later in the near future.

5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the projects name? Filsufatia is actually a distorted Arabic word for Filsuf, which means the philosopher.

6..Currently there is only 1 member involved with the project, how do you feel it adds to the creativity of the music? Filsufatia had always been a one man band project. At the moment, it is easier to work with only one man behind the band since my work rate kind of goes up and down. As for the creativity part, I have always challenged myself to be better, so I guess there would not be any problem in that department.

7.Recently you have put out a split with Twilight Fauna what are your thoughts on the other band that participated? Twilight Fauna is a very talented band and the main man behind the band, Paul, is extremely talented and hard working. You should all check Twilight Fauna out.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal? The feedbacks are okay and the acceptance is creeping in slowly. As you can see, Filsufatia is not really that well known in the international circuit, but I don’t mind. At least a couple of friends who have been supporting us from day one are always there.

9.What is going on with the other musical projects these days? At the moment, the one with materials is Filsufatia. It is too early to talk about other projects at this stage.

10.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases? I don’t know yet but at this point of time, I am just happy with the acceptance of The Grand Eulogy. Im was thinking about putting Filsufatia on an indefinite hiatus so that I can pursue other projects, but me being me, I am always changing my plans. So, I cant really say anything about the future right now.

11.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays? I would listen to anything with soothing and melancholic melodies. I am not picky with what I would listen to. Back in the day, people would call person like me as an all rounder. At the moment, I feasting my ears to some Thy Light – No Morrow Shall Dawn and Dreariness – My Mind Is Too Weak To Forget.

12.Outside of music what are some of your interests? Books, English Premier League, History, Poems and watching TV.

13.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview? Thank you again for this amazing interview. More power to you webzine. To those who are not in the know, please visit Filsufatia at www.facebook.com/filsufatia and try the excellence of melancholic sadness with Filsufatia. All Hail The Malaysian Depreshvn!

Malaysian Metal Blog

thebulletbelt.blogspot.com

A blog promoting the obscure Malaysian black metal and death metal bands and music to the rest of the world.

Filsufatia/The Grand Eulogy/2013 Demo Review

  Filsufatia  are  a  1  man  band  from  Malayasia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  the  musical  style  being  and  instrumental  form  of  depressive  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  demo  "The  Grand  Eulogy".

  "Fallen  Leaves(Intro)"  begins  with  some  soft keyboard  playing  which  also  utilizes  a  variety  of  many  different  keys  and  serves  as  an  intro  for  the  demo.

  "The  Grand  Eulogy(Welcome  Home)"  begins  with  some  soft  and  depressive  keyboards  leading  to  some  drums  and  post  black  metal  style  guitar  riffs  which  also  combine  with  the  keyboards  and  after  a  few  minutes  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodic  leads  and  the  song  closes  with  keyboards.

  In  December(The Final  Chapter)"  begins  with  some  soft  acoustic  guitar  playing  which  utilizes  some  finger  picking  and  full  chords  while  also  being  diverse  and  adding  in  some  keyboards  and  after  awhile  guitar  riffs  and  drums  kick  in  while  also  keeping  the  keyboards  around  and  after  awhile  melodic  post  black  metal  guitar  leads  make  their  presence  known  and  coming  with  the  rhythms  and  keyboards  for  a  brief  period  before  heading  into  a  different  riff  and  the  song  closes  with  some  acoustic  guitars.

  "Laverne(A  Million Miles  Nowhere)"  begins  with  some  soft  keyboard  playing  which  lead  to  some  drums,  depressive  black  metal  guitar  riffs  and  melodic  leads  and  after  awhile  keyboards  start  kicking  in as  well  as  the  music  and  leads  getting  more  diverse  and  the  song  closes  in  a  soft  direction.

  Song  themes  cover  darkness  and  depression,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  dark  sound.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Filsufatia  and  if  you  are  looking  for  something  original  you  sould  check  out  this  demo  and  it  is  also  available  as  a  free  download  http://www.uploadmb.com/dw.php?id=1376703996.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Grand  Eulogy(Welcome  Home)"  and  "Laverne(A  Million Miles  Nowhere).  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

Twilight Fauna/Filsufatia/Fallen Leaves In A Tide Of Sorrow/Spectrelight Recordings/2013 Split Cassette Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Tennessee's  Twilight  Fauna  and  Malayasia's  Filsufatia  both  1  man  bands  with  the  cassette  being  called  "Fallen  Leaves  In  A  Tide  Of  Sorrow"  which  was  released  in  2013  by  Spectrelight  Records  and  we  will  start  of  the  review  with  Twilight  Fauna  who  has  just  had  a  couple  of  other  albums  reviewed  and  plays  atmospheric,  depressive  black  metal  with  folk  elements  on  this  recording.

  "The  Cold  Air  Of  A  Solitary  Night"  starts  off  with  some  dark  sounding  black  metal  guitar  riffs  which  leads  to  some  drum  beats  and  depressive,  grim  screams  and  getting  even  more  powerful  as  time  moves  on  and  after  a  few  minutes  some  soft  acoustic  guitar  playing  makes  its  way  into  the  song  which  utilizes  both  finger  picking  and  full  chords  before  returning  back  to  its  heavier  roots.

  "A  Silent  Agony"  starts  off  with  some  soft  acoustic  guitar  playing  which  leads  to  some  melodic  clean  singing  and  there  are  no  other  musical  instruments  present  with  this  song  being  a  folk  piece  over  7  minutes.

  Lyrics  cover  nature  and  depressive  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  primitive  sound  with  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Twilight  Fauna  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric,  depressive  black  metal  with  elements  of  folk,  you  should  check  out t heir  side  of t he  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Cold  Air  Of  A  Solitary  Night".  RECOMMENDED.

  Next  up  is  Filsufatia  a  band  that  plays  an  instrumental  form  of  depressive  black  metal.

  "Laverne  (A  Million  Miles  Nowhere)"  starts  off  with  some  soft  piano playing  before  going  into  a  slow  and  heavy  depressive  black  metal  riff  along  with  some  powerful drumming  which  also  leads  to  some  melody  making  its  way  into  the  riffing  and  after  a  minute  synths  make  their  presence  known  in  the  background and  as  the  song  moves  on  a  brief  melodic  guitar  solos  makes  its  way  into  the  song.

  "The  Grand  Eulogy  (Welcome  Home)"  starts  off  with  some  soft  synth  playing  before  going  into  heavier  guitar  riffing  and  drums  while  also keeping  the  synths  around  and  after  a  few  minutes  they  song  starts  mixing  in  post  rock  elements  with  some  synth  guitars.

  Song  themes  cover  darkness,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  with  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Filsufatia  are  a  very  great  sounding  instrumental  depressive  black  metal  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Laverne  (A  Million  Miles  Nowhere)".  RECOMMENDED.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  and  depressive  black  metal,  you  should  add  this  split  to  to  your   collection.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Twilight_Fauna/3540346865
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Filsufatia/3540293180