Album Review: Fürst – Destination: Resignation
Band: Fürst
Album: Destination: Resignation
Release date: July 7th, 2025
Label: Independent
Country: Germany
Format reviewed: Youtube stream
Album Review: Fürst – Destination: Resignation
The man behind Fürst is Alastor, known as vocalist of the band Zarathustra during the 90s. After years of silence, he has resurfaced as creator and vocalist of his own Black Metal act. Destination: Resignation is the first full length album by this German one-man band. While guitar and bass have been recorded by session musicians, Alastor has done everything else himself.
This is depressive black metal that could have been downloaded right from the late 90s. The production is raw and minimal. The guitar tone is sharp but still somewhat warm and comforting, maybe because of the slow repetitive riffs and melodic patterns simple to the point of a childish naivete, that in the distorted setting creates feelings of grief and nostalgia.
There is a slow yet relentless flow of waves of higher intensity followed by softer passages. Seemingly improvised guitar solos break out in contemplative windling. During long passages only the same two chords are repeated in different textures. This is music of small nuances and subtle feeling rather than intellectual inventiveness. The slow pace allows for long slow thought process.
It is no surprise that Alastor is first and foremost a vocalist. The vocals carry the emotion through the slow journey of Destination: Resignation, and they never miss the mark. All through the album, supported by the slow flow of minimalistic chord builds, they tell a story of unbearable isolation. From spoken word to unpolished clean singing to anguished wails breaking into long painful fry screams, the expression is intense without getting theatrical. In the simplistic and lo-fi composition, the vocals stand out as versatile and powerful, yet used in a way that enhances the depressive atmosphere rather than overpowering it. Some long slow screams over two chords played by only one guitar are pure poetry.
The production is raw and minimalistic. Instruments are allowed plenty of roughness and texture that may or be accidental or created for atmosphere. A synthesiser is sometimes used as background. The drone or simple progression it creates sound old and cheap, bringing its own texture of desolation to the soundscape.
Elements of what sounds like movie samples are used with restraint, still they distract from the music without adding anything. The same effect could have been achieved by mixing the excellent vocals in a way that made lyrics more audible.
The mixing is raw to the point of uneven. Every song feels like moving to a different room and there is variation in loudness and texture that breaks the immersion. I need to start over for every song, find the room and get used to it before I am back in the emotion. Some crackling and wobbling could be unfortunate uses of modern effects to mimic the sound of the 90s or they could be honest mistakes. Destination: Resignation could have benefited a lot from more gentle mixing choices, but the emotion of the vocals combined with the simplistic melodies far compensate for any lacks in mixing. This is an album of powerful suffering in an endless lonely space. 7/10
7/10: Victory is Possible!
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