Whenever I see anything tagged with Raw Black Metal on Bandcamp, I’m usually given pause for thought. That thought being: “Do I really want to click on this?”
Far too many times I’ve ignored my base instinct and dived straight into so-called Raw Black Metal only to be met by a cacophony of noise — a murky mass of sound where guitars, drums, and vocals are so badly mixed together that you can’t make out a damn thing. What you’re left with is the sound equivalent of a human being throwing themselves off a very tall building. A musical splat, if you will.
And yet… I still do it. Every time. Because once in a while, when the stars align and the corpse paint’s applied just right, you stumble across a hidden gem — a demo, an EP, or an album that makes you sit up and actually pay attention.
Verbittert, verhasst, verwest by Forsthexe is one of those.
Listed as Atmospheric Black Metal as well as Raw Black Metal, the four tracks on offer here do indeed have that rawness the genre tag promises, but this isn’t the usual lo-fi swamp of unlistenable nonsense. This is raw done right — the kind that captures energy, not ineptitude. It’s got dirt under its nails, but it knows exactly what it’s doing. The production has that gritty edge without tipping into total chaos, while still maintaining that icy, suffocating atmosphere.
While there’s a definite atmospheric current running through the EP, Verbittert, verhasst, verwest feels far more rooted in the Second Wave of Black Metal than in the more modern “cascadian” or post-influenced branch. Think less Wolves in the Throne Room and more A Blaze in the Northern Sky. There’s that classic Norwegian coldness to it — a direct, unflinching approach that doesn’t care about polish or pretence.
That’s not to say Forsthexe are a mere tribute act. They’re not. There’s a spark of something individual here, a personality that creeps out from between the riffs. But there’s also a reverence for the sound and spirit of the early ’90s — when Black Metal didn’t need to prove anything to anyone. The riffs are jagged yet purposeful, and the drums drive everything forward with a ferocity that feels urgent rather than mechanical. The vocals? Raw and guttural, yet perfectly balanced in the mix — harsh enough to blister but clear enough to cut through the haze.
What’s impressive is that, despite its raw edge, the EP has a real sense of structure. Each song flows naturally into the next, and there’s a surprising amount of melody buried beneath the frostbite. The closing moments of the final track Bring mir das Ende, in particular, feel almost triumphant — like emerging from the other side of a storm, battered but exhilarated.
Forsthexe clearly understand that atmosphere isn’t something you tack on — it’s something you build from conviction, tone, and intent. And that’s exactly what makes Verbittert, verhasst, verwest stand out in a sea of lo-fi mediocrity.
Verbittert, verhasst, verwest is available now via the Forsthexe Bandcamp page.
CHOICE CUT: Bring mir das Ende
BLACK METAL ARCHIVES VERDICT: Raw done right — cold, caustic, and utterly convincing. Forsthexe channel the spirit of the Second Wave without simply copying it, proving that sometimes the filthiest recordings hide the purest intent.
