AFSKY – Fællesskab
Release Date: 10th October 2025
Label: Eisenwald
Bandcamp
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
FFO: Ellende, Drudkh, ColdWorld, Wolves in the Throne Room, Saor, Solbrud.
Review By: Magnus Rotås
“Fællesskab – Overture to the Downfall. Here, community is praised like herd animals fleeing responsibility. A parade of moral superiority, where truth is trampled in the name of consensus. Where unity means silence, and doubt is a crime. Six songs of shame disguised as care, of freedom suffocated, and of the solitary few who still dare to question. A chorus of hollow words, where silence screams the loudest. Welcome to the celebration – the curtain hasn’t just risen, it’s been torn away!” – Ole Luk of Afsky
One-man Danish black metal project Afsky continues to refine their signature sound with their fourth studio album Fællesskab.
Anyone familiar with Afsky and their sound should instantly be onboard with this new album. Afsky’s signature sound of raw emotion and melodic atmospheric black metal has been refined and sound even better than ever. The six tracks on the record shows some of the best songwriting Afsky has ever done.
This is their most critical and emotionally charged work to date, and I think one of the areas where Ole Luk has really stepped up his game is in the lyrics. This record has a lot it wants to say, and you can feel that from the very start. Fællesskab is an outright attack on herd mentality and a melancholic mourning song of a hope for the future that seems to have died out in our modern world.
The vocals need a special mention as well. They are honestly some of the best black metal vocals I have ever heard in a good while. Ole manages to convey so much emotion with these shrieks, you can hear that he truly means what he is singing. His soul is allowed to come out and breathe when he sings, revealing itself to the listener.
Velkommen til livet (Welcome to life) is the first track. It starts off with a crackling vinyl of a children’s song that loops before it melts away. It is a reminder that those innocent and hopeful childhood years are long gone, and the world is a different place today.
Den der ingenting ved tvivler aldrig (He who knows nothing never doubts) is a really great song and one of my favorites for sure. What a great title for a song, one that is a clear critique of herd mentality. The third track Natmaskinen (The night machine) is one of the most melodic songs on the record, where the melodic depths keep reveling in sorrow and longing beauty. At first I thought these songs were a bit too bright, almost uplifting at times, but for each listen the emotions I got from the tracks changed as I discovered more and more nuances in the music.
Starting us off on side B is Arveskam (Shame of inheritance), a blistering black metal track, with a guitar riff that at times sounds like an alarm going off, somehow it works! I think this song is about the shame we feel of inheriting a world in as poor of a state as our own (Mind you, I have not had the lyrics available for this review, so I got to judge based on the Danish shrieks I can hear). The ending to this song is also one of the most beautiful moments on the record, where Afsky experiments with the use of synths for the first time. The synths are sparingly used on the album and thankfully never feels forced or gimmicky. It’s all very tastefully done and creates some real memorable moments while giving the record some added texture to it.
Flaggelanternes sang is a good example of how stormy weather and sound effects are used on this album to create a more complete atmosphere. I have heard quite a few church bell sound effects used in metal throughout the years, but few have had a more gloomy atmosphere than in this song.
Afsky keeps the longest and most emotionally loaded song til’ last, the 11-minute Svanesang (Swansong). It’s a perfect ending to the album that incorporates all the elements from the previous songs and combines them into one sweeping epic. It’s an ending that makes you reflect on the world and yourself while every emotion comes in on you. And as the synths fade away, and you are only left with the sounds of heavy rain, you just feel hollow… absolute melancholic perfection!
I think these songs work best as part of a whole because of the thematic tissue that connects them. This is more the kind of record you put on and listen from start to finish – fully immersed in both its atmosphere and lyrical content.
Afsky is on top of their game with this release – this is their strongest release so far. This record makes me feel, it makes me think, and it makes me want to come back to its melancholic atmosphere over and over again. It can’t be anything else than a 5/5 from me!
(5 / 5)
