Aachen, the most Western German city, bordering the Netherlands and Belgium. Aachen, the coronation city of German kings and the deathbed of Charles the Great. Aachen, former city of coal mining and hard labour. Aachen, home to traditional fraternities of questionable political views. Aachen, city where a football club is condoning that ultra right winged fans have literally kicked out left winged fans from the stands. And Aachen, home to Fjørt, one of the most exciting German hardcore bands to grace every tiny youth center, club or festival stage all over Europe throughout the last couple of years.
If you live in a environment that is built on political tension, cultural heritage and a complete change from labour to technology and innovation, it is bound to leave a mark and steady impression on young people. Demontage Fjørt’s debut EP from 2012 was a sign of things to come. Pure anger distilled into six songs of hard riffs, breaks, blast parts and bone shattering screams where the end product that made quite a few people listen up to this young band. 2014 debut album D’Accord followed this up with leaving a bit more light in. There were more atmospheric parts and the production was bigger. Lyrically Fjørt kept their themes of anger, self-doubts and insecurity while giving more space for singing and vocal melodies. That only made the impact of the heavier parts just that bit heavier. Fjørt hadn’t reinvented post-hardcore but they had defined their own sound and their fansbase kept on growing. And the band spent the last two years relentlessly touring.
Kontakt is the name of their second longplayer. Crafted in endless sessions, it feels like a definite manifestation of the bands own sound. Opener In Balance drags you slowly through a field of nails only to stop for a melodic pause when the pressure of the guitars and bass becomes almost unbearable. The fast pace of following song Anthrazit feels like a welcome breeze even though it’s heavy and melodic at the same time. I could go on like this for every song. It is amazing how emotionally draining Kontakt is – ‚Tour de Force‘ was hardly a more fitting term for any record. The production of the record is top notch. While American peers would probably opt for a metal production that would take all life out of the songs, Fjørt breathe, crackle, drown and swallow you with every note, every break and every scream. It is wonderful that you can understand every word clearly on a record like this.
Otherwise you would miss the political themes of songs such as Paroli, where singer Chris is telling us to stand strong against the ever more present right winged ideologies, or Abgesang where he sings about coming to terms with the religiously motivated attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Both songs sit at the center of the record and no matter how beautiful some melodies on this record have been so far, they manage to drag you into the darkest spots of your inner self. It is great that songs like Belvedere and Mantra follow with some much positivity and light. And Lebewohl is hopefully not meant to be the swan song of a band who have recorded such an intense album. It would be a loss if the band would call it quits now. This is just another step to big things. Fjørt have found themselves and we have found them again. This could be big!
Kontakt by Fjørt is out on January 22nd via Grand Hotel van Cleef / Indigo / Finetunes!
Pick up your copy here…
Fjørt are on tour:
25.02.16 – Halle, Hühnermanhattan
26.02.16 – Berlin, Privatclub
27.02.16 – Dresden, Groovestation
28.02.16 – Hannover, Bei Chez Heinz
29.02.16 – Frankfurt, Elfer Club
01.03.16 – Stuttgart, Kellerclub
02.03.16 – Lindau, Club Vaudeville
03.03.16 – CH – Bern, Rössli
04.03.16 – CH – Winterthur, Gaswerk
05.03.16 – AT – Innsbruck, Weekender
06.03.16 – AT – Lustenau, Carini-Saal
07.03.16 – München, Kranhalle
08.03.16 – Nürnberg, Club Stereo
09.03.16 – Köln, Artheater
10.03.16 – Hamburg, Molotow
